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ER  &STOUGHTON   CHARLES  H  .KELLY 


WESLEY'S 
WORLD    PARISH: 


A      SKETCH      OF      THE      HUNDRED 

years'  work  of  the  WESLEYAN 

METHODIST    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY 


BY 


GEORGE   G.   FINDLAY,   D.D. 

AND 

MARY    GRACE  'fINDLAY,   M.Sc. 


HODDER     AND     STOUGHTON 
CHARLES    H.    KELLY 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 
PREFACE .  ^ 

CHAPTER  I 

A    ROOT    OUT    OF    A    DRY    GROUND  -  .  .  -  .  y 

CHAPTER  n 

THE  ADVENTURES  OF  THOMAS  COKE  -     -     -     -         13 

CHAPTER  in 

THE   THREE    MIGHTIES 23 

CHAPTER   IV 

COLONIAL   PIONEERS 3I 

CHAPTER  V 

THE   WEST    INDIES  :     EMANCIPATION    AND    AFTER  -  -         48 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE   WHITE    man's    GRAVE   - 65 

CHAPTER  VII 

SOUTH   AFRICA    AND    THE    TWO    SHAWS  .  -  -  -         78 

CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    ISLANDS    OF   THE    SOUTH    SEAS        -----         94 

CHAPTER  IX 

BREAKING   GROUND    IN    CEYLON    AND    INDIA  -  -  -      IIO 


iv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  X  PAGE 

EUROPE  AND  THE  MEDITERRANEAN  -     -     -     _     _   125 

CHAPTER  XI 

SWARMS    FROM    THE    OLD    HIVE I33 

CHAPTER  Xn 

THE    OPENING    OF   CHINA jcj 

CHAPTER  Xni 

women's   WORK    FOR   MISSIONS l5^ 


CHAPTER  XIV 

ADVANCE    IN    THE    INDIAN    EMPIRE 


179 


CHAPTER  XV 

TOWARD    THE    HEART    OF  AFRICA Iq5 

CHAPTER  XVI 

TIDES    OF   MISSIONARY   ZEAL  -  -  -  -  _  -2lO 

CHAPTER  XVII 

THE    WORLD    CALL    TO   METHODISM 2X8 


PREFACE 

JOHN  WESLEY'S  famous  saying,  "  I  look  upon  all  the  world 
as  my  Parish,"  was  not  prompted  by  ambition  or  impatience 
of  control ;  it  was  a  declaration  of  plain  duty.  Carrying  in  his 
heart  "  the  salvation  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus,"  he  must  needs 
make  it  known,  so  far  as  he  might,  to  all  his  fellows.  Eccle- 
siastical boundaries,  national  and  racial  barriers,  geographical 
distance,  have  no  power  to  Hmit  the  dispensation  of  the  grace 
of  God  committed  to  the  beheving  Christian  man.  "  In  what- 
ever part  of  the  world  I  am,"  Wesley  explains,  "  I  judge  it  meet, 
right,  and  my  bounden  duty  to  declare  unto  all  that  are  wiUing 
to  hear  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation."  This  working  conception 
of  the  scope  of  the  Gospel  embodied  itself  in  the  Methodist  Church. 
The  following  pages  attempt  to  narrate,  in  the  briefest  compass, 
the  manner  in  which  the  world-mission  thus  imposed  has,  so  far, 
been  discharged.     Its  fulfilment  is  to  come. 

This  little  volume  is  issued  in  advance  of  the  larger  Centenary 
History  of  Wesleyan  Missions  to  be  published  on  behalf  of  the 
Missionary  Society.  All  that  is  attempted  here  is  to  sketch  the 
general  course  of  the  advance  of  Methodism  in  foreign  lands,  to 
mark  the  chief  events  and  bring  into  view  the  leading  personaUties 
of  the  hundred  years'  striving  for  the  faith  of  the  Gospel.  The 
difficulty  of  the  writers  has  been  that  of  selection  and  compression. 
The  tithe  is  not  told  of  all  one  would  wish  to  tell  of  the  doings 
and  sufferings  of  Christ's  ambassadors  sent  by  our  Church  across 
the  seas  ;  much  is  wanting  of  that  which  interested  readers  in 
the  different  provinces  of  world-Methodism  will  perhaps  expect 
to  find.  We  shall  have  space  for  a  juster  treatment,  if  it  please 
God,  in  the  extended  work.  Amongst  the  defects  due  to  lack 
of  space,  two  are  particularly  regrettable  :  the  home-side  of  the 
Missionary  Society  has  been  largely  ignored  ;  and  but  Httle 
indication  is  given  of  the  work  of  sister  Churches  in  the  missionary 
fields  on  which  our  own  is  engaged.  We  do  not  forget  that 
Methodism  is  but  a  single  limb  of  the  "  one  body  "  of  Christ 
spread  abroad  through  the  earth.     Least  of  all  should  we  wish 


6  PREFACE 

to  exclude  from  "Wesley's  World  Parish  "  the  widely  spread  and 
vigorous  missions  of  the  younger  Methodist  Churches,  British 
and  American,  though  we  have  no  right  to  include  them  in  this 
story. 

Help  has  been  furnished  and  material  derived  from  sources, 
public  and  private,  too  numerous  to  specify  ;  we  ask  our  friends 
kindly  to  accept  this  general  acknowledgment  of  indebtedness. 
The  sections  on  the  several  foreign  districts  have  been  submitted 
to  missionary  experts,  from  whom  valuable  corrections  and 
suggestions  have  been  received.  In  view  of  the  forthcoming 
History,  further  assistance  of  this  nature  will  be  welcome  from 
any  informed  reader. 

For  companion  maps,  we  refer  the  reader  to  the  World  Atlas 
of  Christian  Missions  lately  published  on  behalf  of  the  Student 
Volunteer  Movement.  The  outline-maps  supplied  in  the  Annual 
Report  of  the  Missionary  Society,  and  in  the  last  issue  of  the 
Helpers'  Union  Manual  (W.M.M.S.,  id.),  may  serve  the  purpose, 
if  no  other  aid  of  the  kind  is  at  hand.  History  should  always 
be  read  with  the  Atlas  at  one's  elbow. 

The  part  of  the  two  authors  (father  and  daughter)  in  the  work, 
it  is  needless,  and  would  be  difficult,  to  distinguish.  The  last  chap- 
ter comes  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  William  Hare  Findlay,  M.A. 

George  G.  Findlay. 
Mary  Grace  Findlay. 


WESLEY'S  WORLD    PARISH 

CHAPTER  I 

A  Root  Out  of  a  Dry  Ground 

A  S  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground  "  the  Servant  of  the  Lord, 
XjL  foretold  by  prophecy,  "  grew  up  before  Him."  Nothing 
was  further  from  human  foresight  than  that  Christianity  should 
have  its  birth  from  the  times  of  the  Herods  and  the  Caesars.  The 
evolutionary  construction  of  history,  which  reckons  ' '  without  God 
in  the  world  "  and  would  reduce  Jesus  Christ  and  His  religion  to  a 
mere  product  of  the  age,  is  dealing  with  a  problem  insoluble  to 
its  method  and  beyond  the  range  of  its  assumptions.  Naturalistic 
science  is  helpless  in  face  of  the  great  upward  movements  and 
the  crises  of  regeneration  in  human  life  ;  these  mark  in  fact 
supernatural  "  days  of  visitation,"  "  seasons  of  revival  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord."  Such  was  eminently  the  birth- time  of 
Methodism  in  England. 

France  and  England — the  twin  leaders  of  Western  civilisation — 
by  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  appeared  to  be  in  rapid 
decadence.  Both  experienced,  in  the  most  different  fashion,  a 
momentous  awakening  before  the  century  was  out.  Our  own 
country  had  fallen  into  a  state  of  national  torpor,  of  religious 
declension  attended  with  moral  decay  and  social  disorder,  un- 
exampled since  the  Protestant  Reformation. 

Bishop  Butler  writes,  in  1751,  that  "  the  influence  of  religion 
is  more  and  more  wearing  out  in  the  minds  of  men  "  ;  and  Montes- 
quieu, a  cool  French  observer  of  this  period,  testifies,  in  his  Notes 
upon  England,  that  "  there  is  no  religion  "  amongst  the  people — 
"  the  subject,  if  mentioned,  excites  nothing  but  laughter  ;  not 
more  than  four  or  five  of  the  members  of  the  House  of  Commons," 
as  he  believes,  "  were  regular  attendants  at  church,"  At  the  same 
time,  English  morals  had  sunk  to  their  lowest  pitch.  The  Court 
of  the  first  two  Georges  was  grossly  scandalous  ;   debauched  habits 


8  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

and  brutal  sports  were  fashionable  in  all  ranks  of  society.  Politi- 
cal honour  had  become  a  byword.  Robbery  was  so  rife  that  the 
metropolis  "  hardly  resembled  a  civilised  town,"  and  "  trading 
justices  "  sat  on  the  magistrates'  bench.  In  1724  an  epidemic  of 
gin-drinking — "  the  master-curse  of  English  life  "  at  this  period, 
says  the  historian  Lecky — broke  out  in  London,  and  the  alcoholic 
habit  became  from  that  date  indigenous  in  Britain.  Disease  and 
crime — the  latter  unrepressed  by  a  code  of  laws  the  most  bar- 
barous known  to  any  civilised  country — swelled  to  unheard-of 
proportions. 

Hogarth's  pictures  reflect  the  coarseness  and  profligacy  of 
English  society  at  this  epoch  ;  Horace  Walpole's  Letters  and  John 
Wesley's  Journal  supply  an  abundant  commentary  upon  them.* 
The  public  apathy  to  the  notorious  corruption  of  Parliamentary 
life,  and  the  indifference  with  which  the  career  of  the  Young  Pre- 
tender was  watched  in  the  years  1745-46,  afford  significant 
indications  of  the  low  ebb  of  patriotic  spirit  and  loyalty  in  the 
reign  of  George  II. 

But  the  ebb  was  followed  by  a  swift  rising  of  the  tide.  The 
main  factors  in  the  remaking  of  England,  witnessed  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  were  political,  industrial,  and 
religious  :  these  three  movements  are  associated  with  the  names 
respectively  of  William  Pitt ;  of  James  Watt,  along  with  Richard 
Ark  Wright  and  the  train  of  inventors  who  followed  him  ;  of  John 
and  Charles  Wesley,  and  George  Whitefield.  The  advent  to 
power  of  William  Pitt  the  elder,  who  became  Minister  for  War 
in  1756,  marks  the  turning-point  of  the  national  fortunes.  Rarely 
in  any  age  has  the  influence  of  a  single  man  changed  so  completely 
in  so  short  a  time  the  spirit  of  a  nation  and  the  aspect  of  its  affairs. 
The  Great  Commoner,  as  he  was  styled,  gave  a  nobility  to  political 
debate  that  had  been  lacking  since  the  famous  days  of  the  Long 
Parliament.  His  call  aroused  the  soul  of  England,  as  no  voice 
of  orator  or  statesman  had  done  for  generations.  But  Pitt  wa5 
more  than  a  great  parliamentarian  and  administrator  ;  he  was  a 
political  genius  of  the  first  order,  displaying  a  grasp  of  world-affairs, 
with  a  swiftness  of  insight  and  a  sureness  in  action,  unsurpassed 
in  the  records  of  statesmanship.  Pitt  showed  himself  a  judge 
of  men  no  less  than  of  events,  knowing  how  to  choose  and  to  trust 

•  Charles  Dickens,  in  the  story  of  Barnaby  Rudge,  gives  a  reahstic 
description  of  Enghsb  manners  about  the  time  of  the  Gordon  Riots  in 
1780,  when  the  lawlessness  of  London  culminated  in  a  frightful  calamity, 
terminated  only  by  the  courage  of  George  III.  W.  M.  Thackeray's 
Four  Georges  throws  a  vivid  light  on  the  period. 


A  ROOT  OUT  OF  A  DRY  GROUND  9 

his  instruments,  and  breathing  into  them  his  lofty  patriotism 
and  his  dauntless  temper.  By  the  end  of  the  Seven  Years'  War 
(1756-63),  conducted  until  1761  under  Pitt's  direction,  the  struggle 
between  England  and  France  for  colonial  ascendency  was  ended. 
Robert  Clive  in  India,  James  Wolfe  in  America,  by  their  decisive 
victories  had  laid  the  foundations  of  the  present  British  Empire. 
It  is  true  that  corrupt  and  reactionary  influences  for  long  over- 
shadowed domestic  politics,  and  that  England  suffered  a  humiliat- 
ing defeat  in  her  war  with  the  American  Colonies  (1775-83),  waged 
against  Pitt's  solemn  protest ;  but  the  spirit  he  had  stirred  in 
the  British  people  never  died  out,  and  William  Pitt's  indomitable 
and  patient  courage  reappeared  in  his  illustrious  son,  the  pro- 
tagonist of  England's  conflict  with  Napoleon. 

At  the  same  epoch  a  vast  internal  change  began,  affecting  the 
destinies  of  Great  Britain  and  the  course  of  modern  life  even 
more  than  did  the  victory  of  Plassey  and  the  capture  of  Quebec. 
The  outburst  of  mechanical  invention  amongst  our  people,  which 
distinguished  the  last  thirty  or  forty  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  forms  one  of  the  most  astonishing  manifestations  of 
human  genius.  The  new  machinery  became  the  instrument  of 
an  industrial  revolution  no  less  profound  and  world-wide  in  its 
consequences  than  the  political  revolution  simultaneously  effected 
in  France.  England's  leadership  in  this  movement  secured  for 
her  a  supremacy  long  unchallenged  in  the  fields  of  manufacture 
and  commerce.  The  social  changes  accompanying  the  transfor- 
mation of  industry  had  their  dark  and  disturbing  features  ; 
problems  in  economics  and  the  civil  order  were  raised  by  it,  whose 
solution  has  still  to  be  worked  out ;  but  the  rapid  development 
of  British  manufactures  at  this  juncture  brought  about  a  mul- 
tiplication of  wealth,  and  a  growth  of  population,  which  enabled 
this  country  to  hold  the  empire  thrust  upon  her  in  East  and  West, 
and  which  created  the  material  resources  indispensable  for  the 
struggle  awaiting  her  in  the  Napoleonic  wars. 

The  spiritual  strength  required  for  that  tremendous  combat 
was  forthcoming  from  another  source.  Earlier  than  the  indus- 
trial evolution  and  the  patriotic  awakening  we  have  signalised, 
came  the  Methodist  revival  of  religion,  which  proved  the  salvation 
and  the  consecration  of  them  both.  History  points  to-day  to 
William  Pitt  the  elder  and  John  Wesley  as  the  two  master  spirits 
of  England  in  the  eighteenth  century,  the  chief  founders  of  her 
subsequent  moral  and  material  greatness.  For  seventeen  years 
before  Pitt  entered  the  Cabinet  of  George  II.,  for  thirty  years 
before  Arkwright  introduced  the  spinning-frame,  Wesley  had  been 


10  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

preaching  the  Gospel  of  God  on  commons  and  village-greens,  and 
spreading  the  network  of  the  Methodist  Societies  over  the  face  of 
England.  A  stream  of  gentler,  purer,  soberer,  godlier  life, 
generated  at  this  spring,  was  welling  up  unobserved  from  the 
depths  of  English  society,  to  rebuke  its  scepticism  and  vice,  to 
cleanse  and  replenish  the  currents  of  national  activity.  By  the 
time  of  John  Wesley's  death,  in  the  year  1791,  the  England  of 
his  youth  had  been  born  again.  In  the  new  religious  atmosphere 
a  new  philanthropy  had  come  into  existence — kindlier  manners, 
humaner  laws,  and  a  far  sounder  and  stronger  public  spirit,  the 
"  godliness  "which"  hath  the  promise  of  this  life  "  along  with  the 
promise  of  the  life  to  come.  The  Churches,  half  a  century  before 
as  incapable  of  missionary  effort  as  could  well  be  conceived,  were 
now  on  the  point  of  giving  birth  to  the  great  societies  whose  work 
has  spread  over  the  lands  of  heathendom.  In  God  are  hidden  the 
"  fresh  springs  "  of  a  people's  life.  During  the  years  we  have 
surveyed,  England's  religious  thought  had  taken  a  course  the 
opposite  of  that  pursued  in  France — a  difference  indicated  by  the 
contemporary  names  of  Wesley  and  Voltaire  ;  and  the  Revolu- 
tion, which  a  generation  before  might  have  been  equally  prog- 
nosticated in  either  country,  while  it  devastated  the  neighbouring 
land,  left  the  fabric  of  the  British  commonwealth  unshaken. 

Let  us  do  justice,  however,  to  the  eighteenth  century.  It 
would  be  wrong  to  charge  Protestantism,  or  the  English  Churches 
of  pre-Methodist  times,  with  sheer  indifference  to  the  claims  of 
the  heathen  and  deafness  to  the  missionary  call.  The  Long 
Parliament  in  1648,  moved  by  reports  of  the  work  of  John 
Eliot  of  Massachusetts,  "  the  Apostle  of  the  Indians,"  who  died 
in  1690  after  a  long  and  fruitful  missionary  course,  issued  a 
manifesto  in  favour  of  missions  to  the  heathen,  urging  their 
support  upon  all  English  Christians.  Oliver  Cromwell  had  a  vision 
realised  since  his  day  in  a  better  fashion,  of  England  as  Christ's 
witness  to  the  whole  world  and  the  centre  of  an  evangelical  agency 
covering  the  four  continents.  He  would  have  made  Christian 
missions  a  department  of  State,  and  elaborated  the  scheme  of  a 
Protestant  "  Congregatio  de  Propaganda  Fide  "*  designed  to 
match  that  of  Rome.  This  grand  and  far-sighted  project  lapsed 
with  Cromwell's  death  and  the  overthrow  of  the  Puritan  Common- 
wealth. 

♦  "  The  Congregation  (o;- Committee)  for  Propagation  of  the  Faith  " 
— the  title  of  the  great  Roman  Catholic  missionary  department,  estab- 
lished in  the  sixteenth  century  soon  after  the  Protestant  schism,  which 
has  been  so  powerful  an  instrument  in  the  extension  of  Papal  Christianity 


A  ROOT  OUT  OF  A  DRY  GROUND  ii 

In  1698  and  1701  there  came  into  existence  through  the  exer- 
tions of  Dr.  Thomas  Bray — a  man  of  extraordinary  energy  and 
breadth  of  mind — the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge 
(S.P.C.K.)  and  the  kindred  Anghcan  Society  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts  (S.P.G.),  which  to-day  are  flourishing 
institutions.  The  S.P.C.K.  from  its  early  days  concerned  itself 
with  missions  as  well  as  literature.  It  first  subsidised,  and  then 
largely  took  over,  the  work  of  the  Danish-German  Mission  to  the 
Tamils  commenced  by  King  Frederick  IV,  of  Denmark  at  the 
beginning  of  the  century.*  Christian  F.  Schwartz,  the  Apostle 
of  South  India,  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  noble  career  of  nearly 
fifty  years  (1750-98)  under  the  auspices  of  this  society;  but 
Schwartz,  alas  !  was  compelled  to  labour  outside  the  bounds  of 
British  India,  where  missions  to  the  Hindus  were  forbidden  until 
1813.  The  missionary  work  of  the  S.P.C.K.  was  mostly  merged  in 
that  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  (C.M.S.),  established  in  1799, 
and  of  the  S.P.G.  which  received  a  great  extension  at  the  turn 
of  the  century.  Up  to  this  time  the  income  of  the  latter  body, 
rarely  rising  above  ;^2,ooo,  was  spent  on  English  chaplaincies 
abroad  and  colonial  parishes  ;  its  efforts  to  reach  the  heathen  had 
been  hitherto  but  slight  and  occasional.  John  Wesley  went  to 
Georgia,  in  1735,  under  the  appointment  of  this  society. 

The  Scottish  Society  for  the  Promoting  of  Christian  Knowledge , 
founded  in  1 709,  early  interested  itself  in  foreign  missions,  and  had 
the  distinction  of  sending  out  David  Brainerd  to  evangelize  the 
Delaware  Indians  of  North  America.  His  brief  missionary  course 
(1742-47)  has  left  an  indelible  imprint  on  the  history  of  the 
Church,  for  his  Memoir,  written  by  Jonathan  Edwards,  kindled 
the  missionary  flame  in  the  breast  of  William  Carey,  of  Henry 
Martyn,  and  of  many  others  of  their  generation.  The  American 
Indian  Churches  raised  up  by  Eliot  and  Brainerd,  and  the  later 
and  most  hopeful  work  of  the  Moravians  amongst  the  same 
people,  were  laid  waste  through  the  wars  and  dispossessions  in 
which  the  tribes  of  the  Red  Man  suffered  shameful  wrong  at  the 
hands  of  colonists  and  Governments.  George  Fox  and  the 
Quakers  deserve  high  praise  for  the  missionary  temper  and 
aspirations  they  cherished,  which  took  expression  in  the  policy  of 

*  Bartholomew  Ziegenbalg  and  Heinrich  Pliitschau,  German  Pietists 
trained  by  A.  H.  Francke  of  Halle,  were  the  pioneers  of  this  enterprise. 
It  was  the  story  of  their  labours  which  fired  the  missionary  spirit  of 
Susannah  Wesley  and  set  her  on  instructing  her  children  about  the 
conversion  of  the  heathen.  Ziegenbalg  also  influenced  the  Moravian 
leader  Zinzendorf. 


12  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

William  Penn,  founder  of  the  State  that  bears  his  name,  and  in 
the  considerate  treatment  of  the  Indians  by  the  Quaker  settlers 
in  America. 

But  the  Moravians  put  to  shame  all  other  Churches  by  their 
devotion  to  the  world-mission  of  the  Gospel,  and  by  the  heroism 
with  which  they  have  played  the  part  of  soldiers  of  Christ  Jesus 
in  every  continent  and  climate.  This  is  the  one  body  of  Christians, 
since  the  Apostolic  days,  which  has  given  its  whole  strength  and 
being  to  the  world-work  of  Christianity.  "  The  vast  missionary 
energy  of  the  Church  of  the  Brethren  is  a  unique  fact  in  the 
history  of  the  whole  Christian  Church  ;  and  it  is  explained  only 
by  the  fact  that  this  Church,  notwithstanding  all  the  weaknesses 
attaching  to  it,  is  the  manifestation  of  a  fellowship  grounded  in 
the  evangelical  faith  and  rooted  in  the  love  of  Christ.  ...  In 
two  decades  the  little  Church  of  the  Brethren  called  more  missions 
into  life  than  did  the  whole  of  Protestantism  in  two  centuries,"* 

Under  the  spell  of  this  people  John  Wesley  was  brought  at  the 
decisive  hour  of  his  life.  He  voyaged  to  Georgia  in  company 
with  the  first  band  of  Moravian  missionaries,  whose  serene  and 
happy  faith  convicted  him  of  the  deep  flaw  in  his  own  religion. 
His  intimacy  with  the  Moravian  bishop  Peter  Bohler  was  the 
immediate  prelude,  and  his  visit  to  Herrnhut  the  sequel,  to  his 
conversion.  The  new  life  of  the  Gospel,  which  the  Wesleys 
received,  so  far  as  concerned  the  stimulus  and  occasion  of  it, 
from  the  Moravian  Brethren,  was  intensely  missionary  in  its 
spirit  and  direction  ;  and  Methodism  might  justly  say  respecting 
its  origin  what  the  Apostle  Paul  said  of  his  own  birth  into  the 
faith  of  Christ  :  "It  pleased  God  to  reveal  His  Son  in  me,  that  I 
might  preach  Him  among  the  nations." 

The  story  of  John  Wesley's  conversion  has  often  been  told 
and  need  not  be  here  repeated  ;  it  took  place  on  May  24th,  1738, 
when,  as  he  relates,  "  about  a  quarter  before  nine  "  in  the  evening, 
while  listening  to  a  reading  from  Luther's  Preface  to  the  Epistle 
to  the  Romans,  his  "  heart  "  was  "  strangely  warmed,"  and 
through  a  full  "  trust  in  Christ  "  the  sure  peace  of  God  entered 
his  soul.  The  vast  issues,  for  England  and  for  the  world,  which 
turned  upon  this  manifestation  to  the  soul  of  one  man,  none  could 
have  foretold.  Unwittingly  Wesley  had  been  prepared  for  this 
day  and  hour  by  his  ancestral  inheritance,  by  the  whole  provi- 
dential guiding  of  his  life  and  the  shaping  of  his  faculties. 

What  we  note  is  that  the  conversion  of  the  two  Wesleys,  John 
and  Charles,  took  place  under  conditions,  and  through  workings 

♦  Warneck's  History  of  Protestant  Missions,  pp.  63,  64. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  THOMAS  COKE  13 

and  leadings  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  which  gave  to  it  a  universal 
import ;  in  their  experience,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Apostle  Paul, 
there  lay  the  seed  of  a  world-mission.  Through  his  Georgian 
expedition  John  Wesley  had  discovered  that  he  did  not  possess 
a  Gospel  for  the  heathen,  because  he  had  not  a  sufficient  Gospel 
for  himself :  in  finding  the  latter,  he  recovered  the  former 
with  it.  The  vital  impulse  of  Methodism  was  given  by  this 
connected  experience — by  the  consciousness  that  the  world  is 
mirrored  in  the  person,  the  race  contained  in  the  ego,  by  the 
belief  that  the  grace  which  has  changed  one  sinner's  heart  is 
adequate,  and  is  designed,  to  redeem  a  world  of  sinners.  Three 
days  before  the  light  of  Forgiving  Love  shone  into  JohnWesley's 
soul,  his  brother  Charles  had  received  the  great  assurance.  On 
that  happy  day  Charles  ^Wesley  wrote  the  familiar  hymn,  which 
commences  : 

"  Where  shall  my  wondering  soul  begin  ? 
How  shall  I  all  to  Heaven  aspire  ?  ** 

and  which  culminates  in  the  stanza  : 

"  Come,  O  my  guilty  brethren,  come. 
Groaning  beneath  your  load  of  sin  ! 
His  bleeding  heart  shall  make  you  room, 

His  open  side  shall  take  you  in. 
He  calls  you  now,  invites  you  home  ; 
Come,  O  my  guilty  brethren,  come  !  " 

It  is  perfectly  clear  what  had  happened  to  the  Wesleys,  and 
what  the  outcome  of  this  happening  was  likely  to  be.  The 
message  of  God's  reconciliation,  coming  swift  and  clear  to  the 
individual  soul,  translated  itself  instantly  into  a  ministry  of 
reconciliation  for  all  mankind.  It  befell  according  to  the  word 
of  Jesus  :  "  The  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  be  in  him  a 
fountain  of  water,  springing  up  into  eternal  life." 


CHAPTER  II 

The  Adventures  of  Thomas  Coke 

The  great  flock  gathered  about  him  at  home  forbade  John 
Wesley's  personal  ministry  in  other  lands,  after  his  return  from 
America.     To  serve  his  world-parish  a  curate  of  no  commoi^ 


14  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

ability  and  devotion  was  required  ;  such  a  helper  was  forth- 
coming in  Thomas  Coke,  "  the  Foreign  Minister  of  Methodism." 
This  remarkable  man  was  born  at  Brecon,  in  1747,  the  only  son 
of  a  Welsh  family  of  some  standing  and  wealth.  His  tempera- 
ment was  fundamentally  Celtic. 

A  man  at  once  more  warmly  loved  and  more  severely  criticized 
by  his  brethren  has  not  been  known  in  the  Methodist  ministry. 
Dr.  Coke  was  a  unique  figure  among  the  Preachers.  Jonathan 
Crowther  describes  him  as  little  more  than  five  feet  in  height, 
but  of  a  well-made  and  sturdy  frame.  "  The  first  time  I  saw 
him,"  he  writes,  "  I  thought  him  the  handsomest  man  I  had 
ever  seen."  His  eyes  were  dark  and  flashing  ;  his  hair  a  glossy 
black,  setting  off  a  ruddy  complexion  ;  his  face  wore  an  aspect 
of  innocence  and  gaiety,  which  made  him  look  a  mere  boy  when 
turned  fifty.  "  His  voice,"  writes  his  admiring  biographer, 
Samuel  Drew,  "  corresponded  with  his  appearance,  being  soft, 
engaging,  and  melodious  ;  and  rarely  failed  to  captivate  those 
who  heard  it."  To  the  charms  of  person  Dr.  Coke  added  those 
of  good  breeding  ;  "his  habits  and  his  consciousness  as  a  gentle- 
man, as  a  man  of  fortune,  and  as  a  scholar  and  clergyman,"  says 
Isaac  Taylor,  "  gave  him  an  air  which,  in  all  positions,  saved  his 
diminutive  and  rotund  person  from  contempt."  He  was  one  of 
those  great  little  men,  in  whom  human  sensibility  and  energy 
are  concentrated.  In  early  manhood  he  was  elected  mayor  of 
his  native  town  ;  later  his  alma  mater,  the  University  of  Oxford, 
made  him  a  Doctor  of  Civil  Law.  When  first  introduced  to 
John  Wesley,  in  1778,  subsequently  to  his  entering  Holy  Orders, 
Coke  had  already  experienced,  under  Methodist  influences,  a 
deep  spiritual  change. 

Dismissed  from  his  curacy  of  South  Petherton  in  1777  on 
account  of  his  "  Methodism,"  Dr.  Coke  enlisted  amongst  Wesley's 
helpers,  speedily  becoming  a  right  hand  to  his  aged  chief.  His 
training  fitted  him  to  act  as  Wesley's  secretary,  and  his  agent 
in  tasks  requiring  legal  and  business  knowledge.  The  "  Deed 
of  Declaration,"  which  set  on  a  permanent  footing  the  authority 
of  the  Conference,  was  drawn  up  under  his  advice.  At  the  same 
time,  he  was  a  fervent  and  pathetic  preacher,  and  his  ministry 
was  awakening  and  soul-saving.  The  prominence  in  the  Con- 
nexion, and  the  influence  with  its  head,  which  Dr.  Coke  acquired, 
roused  apprehensions  in  the  minds  of  his  brethren  lest  he  should 
aspire  "  to  stand  in  Wesley's  shoes  "  ;  his  wearing  the  title  of 
"  Bishop  "  in  America  strengthened  this  suspicion.  But  such 
self-seeking  was  foreign  to  Coke's  ingenuous  nature.     "  Bidding 


Rev.    Thos.    Coke,    D.C.L.,    of    the    University    of    Oxford. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  THOMAS  COKE    15 

adieu  to  his  honourable  name"  (as  Wesley  said),  from  the  time 
that  he  threw  in  his  lot  with  the  despised  Methodists,  Thomas 
Coke  recked  nothing  of  ease  and  honour  ;  wealth,  and  life  itself, 
he  counted  of  value  only  as  they  might  be  spent  in  the  service 
of  Christ.  Greater  self-abnegation  could  hardly  be  conceived, 
in  a  man  of  his  tastes  and  powers,  than  the  zest  with  which  he 
devoted  himself  through  many  years,  on  behalf  of  the  heathen, 
to  what  he  calls  "  the  most  vile,  most  glorious,  drudgery  of 
begging  from  door  to  door."  John  Wesley  well  appreciated  the 
character  and  resourcefulness  of  his  lieutenant,  when  he  allowed 
him  so  largely  to  become  a  "  free  lance  "  in  Methodism. 

Coke's  winning  simplicity  concealed  an  extraordinary  enthusi- 
asm, pertinacity,  and  courage.  "  I  used,"  says  Wesley,  "  to  be  able 
to  do  a  little,  with  money  or  without ;  but  Dr.  Coke  has  overshot 
me  seven  times  with  my  own  bow  !  "  From  the  time  that  he  first 
beheld  heathenism  and  slavery  in  the  West  Indies,  he  "  counted 
all  things  but  loss  "  to  win  the  negro  race  for  Christ ;  he  aspired 
"  to  be  the  cause,  immediately  or  remotely,  of  converting  millions 
to  God."  To  this  life-work  he  dedicated,  with  a  many-sided 
aptitude,  a  tireless  energy  and  a  buoyancy  of  spirit  that  no 
opposition  could  daunt  or  disconcert.  Thomas  Coke  possessed 
the  imagination  and  audacity  of  the  old  sea-rovers.  Where 
dreams  of  empire  and  the  lust  of  gold,  or  the  mystery  of  the 
fabled  seas,  lured  those  adventurers,  this  hero  of  the  Gospel  was 
drawn  by  the  vision  of  the  lost  treasures  of  God's  kingdom  and 
the  masses  of  mankind  estranged  from  Him. 

Impulsiveness  and  irritability  were  faults  almost  inseparable 
from  a  sensitive  and  impetuous  disposition  Uke  Thomas  Coke's; 
impatience  of  Connexional  routine  was  fostered  in  him  by  his 
detached  position  and  independent  means.  Quickly  roused,  how- 
ever, he  was  as  quickly  appeased  ;  "  often  would  he  stand  cor- 
rected, and  he  could  beg  pardon  with  peculiar  grace."  He  was 
incapable  of  resentment  or  of  party-spirit. 

No  clear  indication  is  given  by  Coke's  biographers  as  to  the 
causes  which  first  excited  his  missionary  ardour.  At  the  Con- 
ference of  1778 — the  first  or  second  that  he  attended — a  request 
was  received  from  a  couple  of  African  chiefs  that  missionaries 
should  be  sent  to  Guinea.  The  proposal  was  declined,  after  hours 
of  animated  discussion  ;  but  it  may  well  have  turned  Coke's 
attention  toward  the  heathen  world.  Probably  the  impulse  dates 
further  back,  to  the  moment  when  Wesley  greeted  him  in  August, 
1776.  with  the  prophetic  words  :  "  Brother,  go  out,  go  out,  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  all  the  world  !  " 


i6  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Six  years  after  joining  Wesley,  Coke  elaborated  the  Plan  of  a 
"  Society  for  the  establishment  of  Missions  among  the  Heathen." 
A  copy  of  this  programme  is  extant,  accompanied  by  a  letter 
from  the  author  to  John  Fletcher  of  Madeley,  who  figures  in  the 
list  of  subscribers.  Although  the  scheme  proved  premature,  it 
shows  that  Coke's  mind  was  early  exercised  upon  world-missions, 
and  that  Methodism  was  moving  in  this  direction. 

Dr.  Coke's  interest  in  Africa  was  life-long.  In  1795  he  was 
entrusted  with  the  task  of  finding  agents  for  an  Industrial  Mission 
to  the  Fulahs  of  the  West  Coast,  promoted  by  William  Wilber- 
force  and  his  friends.  He  made  an  unfortunate  selection  ;  and 
the  experiment  miscarried, — its  failure  leaving  Coke  "  with  a 
heart  bleeding  at  every  pore."  Not  long  after  this,  however, 
he  started  a  mission  in  Sierra  Leone  on  Methodist  lines  [see  p.  67)  ; 
and  before  his  death  he  had  the  joy  of  seeing  a  missionary  desig- 
nated by  the  Conference  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

India,  too,  had  early  touched  Coke's  imagination  :  this  great 
field  held  a  place  in  the  "  Plan  "  of  1783  ;  in  1784  we  find  him 
corresponding  with  Charles  Grant  of  the  Indian  Civil  Service 
(later,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Bible  Society),  on  the  feasibility 
of  a  mission  to  Bengal.  Wesley  discouraged  the  project,  judging 
it  useless  to  make  this  venture  except  with  a  strong,  well-equipped 
force,  such  as  Methodism  could  not  then  supply.  Moreover,  the 
veto  put  by  the  East  India  Company  on  missions  within  the 
British  pale  remained  unrepealed.  Throughout  Coke's  toils  and 
journeyings  in  other  regions  India  haunted  him. 

Meantime,  while  Coke's  heart  was  drawn  towards  the  south 
and  east,  an  imperative  call  came  from  the  west.  Wesley  des- 
patched him  in  1784,  after  the  conclusion  of  the  American  war, 
to  organise  the  Methodist  Societies  of  the  United  States  on  an 
independent  footing.  During  the  next  18  years  he  crossed  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  eighteen  times  on  missionary  errands.  Such 
a  record  a  century  ago  meant  vastly  more  of  toil  and  danger  than 
it  would  to-day.  On  three  different  voyages  Coke's  vessel  was 
chased  by  French  cruisers  ;  once  it  was  captured,  and  he  was 
landed  on  the  American  shore  robbed  of  almost  everything  but 
his  papers.  Travel  by  land  or  sea  was  in  itself  a  delight  to  this 
adventurous  man — he  had  a  keen  eye  for  natural  scenery,  and 
for  the  aspects  of  human  life  ;  but  there  were  occasions  when 
his  fortitude  was  severely  tried.  In  the  course  of  one  stormy 
and  protracted  voyage  the  captain,  ascribing  his  misfortunes  to 
the  presence  of  "  parsons  "  on  his  ship,  in  a  frenzy  of  superstitious 
terror   seized   Dr.    Coke's   papers   and   tossed   them   overboard, 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  THOMAS  COKE    17 

emphasizing  with  blows  his  threat  to  fling  their  owner  after  them  I 
Yet  more  miserable  was  a  later  experience  at  sea,  when  severe 
illness  was  induced  by  the  captain's  brutal  usage — "  common 
delicacy,"  the  victim  remarks,  "  would  prevent  me  from  relating  " 
his  behaviour.  Even  from  this  untoward  dispensation  the  gallant 
little  Doctor  extracted  benefit.  "  During  this  time,"  he  writes, 
"  the  Lord  did  truly  speak  to  my  heart  ...  I  became  willing 
to  be  anything  or  nothing  ...  to  be  employed  or  laid  aside,  as 
He  judged  proper.  This  was  a  spirit  I  was  but  little  acquainted 
with  before  ...  I  have  long  been  willing  to  die,  but  not  to  be 
inactive  while  I  live  ...  I  am  sensible  that  I  wanted  all  that  I 
have  suffered." 

During  the  long  weeks  of  shipboard  life,  no  opportunity  was 
missed,  public  or  private,  of  preaching  Christ  to  passengers  and 
crew.  Coke's  days  were  mapped  out  as  exactly  as  if  he  were 
living  in  academic  retirement.  On  his  ninth  Atlantic  voyage, 
he  "  finds  a  ship  a  most  convenient  place  for  study,  though  it 
is  sometimes  a  great  exercise  for  my  feet,  legs,  and  arms,  to  keep 
myself  steady  to  write.  ...  I  seem  to  be  at  my  pleasing  task  even 
while  I  sleep."  A  great  part  of  his  extensive  Commentary  on  the 
Bible  was  thus  composed  at  sea.  "  I  have  six  canary  birds  over 
my  head,"  the  student  adds  sentimentally,  "  which  sing  most 
delightfully  and  entertain  me  while  I  am  labouring  for  my  Lord." 
He  speaks  elsewhere  of  a  "  peculiar  turn  of  mind  which  the  Lord 
has  blessed  me  with,  of  extracting  out  of  these  innocent  transitory 
things  all  the  sweetness  they  are  capable  of  yielding."  On  the 
voyage  to  Bombay,  the  study  of  Portuguese  (for  use  in  Ceylon), 
and  the  translation  into  that  language  of  tracts,  prayers,  hymns 
and  sermons,  occupied  his  hours  in  all  weathers  :  this  at  the  age 
of  sixty-six  ! 

The  occasion  which  brought  Dr.  Coke  to  America  in  1784  will 
meet  us  again  in  Chapter  IV.  Francis  Asbury  {see  pp.  35-37)  at 
that  time  stood  forth  as  the  recognised  leader  of  American 
Methodism,  surrounded  by  a  well-approved  band  of  more  than 
80  Itinerants.  Their  converts  claimed  from  these  ministers  of 
Christ  the  Sacraments  (most  of  the  Anglican  clergy,  the  authorised 
dispensers,  had  left  the  country),  though,  ecclesiastically,  Wesley's 
Preachers  were  still  mere  laymen.  Asbury  resisted  the  demand 
with  extreme  difficulty  {see  p.  34) ;  in  his  distress  he  appealed  to 
Wesley,  but  Wesley  was  unable  to  leave  England.  Failing  to 
persuade  the  Bishop  of  London  to  ordain  one  of  his  Preachers  for 
service  in  the  States,  Wesley  turned  in  this  emergency  to  Coke, 
who  was  a  Presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England,  requesting  him 

B 


i8  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

to  visit  America  as  his  commissioner.  For  this  purpose  Wesley 
formally  ordained  him  "  Superintendent,"*  empowering  him  to 
ordain  Francis  Asbury  in  the  same  capacit}'-,  and  directing  the 
two  Superintendents  to  ordain  as  "  Elders  "  a  sufficient  number 
of  the  American  Preachers,  and  to  regulate,  in  consultation  with 
the  body  of  the  Preachers,  the  affairs  of  the  American  Societies. 

This  ecclesiastical  coup  d'etat  on  John  Wesley's  part,  severely 
blamed  by  his  brother  Charles,  was  forced  upon  him  by  the  neces- 
sities of  the  case.  Naturally  Wesley's  two  "  Superintendents," 
being  charged  with  episcopal  powers,  were  forthwith  dubbed 
"  Bishops  "  by  the  matter-of-fact  Americans,  to  the  bitter  indig- 
nation of  Charles  Wesley,  who  publicly  and  unsparingly  attacked 
Coke  upon  this  score,  and  to  the  embarrassment  of  John,  who, 
however,  threw  his  shield  over  his  deputy. 

Dr.  Coke  landed  in  New  York,  on  this  momentous  errand, 
on  November  3rd,  1784.  At  their  meeting  the  hearts  of  Asbury 
and  Coke  were  knit  together.  They  drew  up  between  them 
the  constitution  of  the  new  Church,  to  which  Asbury  supplied  the 
local  knowledge  and  practical  judgment.  Coke  the  technical 
skill  and  draughtsmanship.  The  Conference  of  Preachers 
summoned  to  Baltimore  recognised  Coke's  authority,  witnessed 
the  ordinations  he  was  commissioned  to  execute,  and  accepted 
the  proposed  constitution.  That  instrument  remains  the  basis 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Churches  to  this  day. 

Dr.  Coke  returned  to  the  States  as  often  as  he  could,  to  assist 
at  the  Quadrennial  General  Conferences  ;  in  1796  he  was  invited 
to  make  his  residence  there,  and  to  be  "  wholl}'"  for  America." 
Lie  would  have  done  so  but  for  the  action  of  the  following  Irish 
and  British  Conferences  (1797),  which  showed  the  most  affec- 
tionate reluctance  to  part  with  him,  the  latter  body  expressing 
its  confidence  by  electing  him  its  President. 

To  the  Americans,  as  far  as  he  might.  Coke  became  an  American. 
At  the  time  of  his  third  visit  to  the  States  (1788-9)  the  Western 
Conference,  very  properly,  presented  a  complimentary  address 
to  George  Washington  on  his  election  to  the  Presidency  of  the 
Republic.  Thinking  no  harm,  Coke  signed  this  document 
along  with  Asbury,  as  chief  officer  of  Methodism  in  the  States. 
His  action  was  condemned  as  disloyal  by  the  Preachers  at  home, 
who  shared  the  popular  resentment  against  the  Colonial "  rebels  "  ; 
nor  did  Wesley  spare  him  reproof.  To  mark  the  displeasure  of 
the   Conference,   Coke's  name   was  dropped  from  the   Minutes 

*  Richard  Whatcoat  {see  p.  36)  and  Thomas  Vasey,  designated  to 
accompany  Coke,  were  ordained  "  Elders  "  at  the  same  time. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  THOMAS  COKE     iq 

for  1789  ;  with  it,  curiously,  the  American  and  West  Indian 
stations  are  ignored  !  All  reappear  in  due  form  in  the  Minutes 
of  1790.  Coke  took  the  censure  meekly,  and  spent  the  year 
of  disgrace  in  preaching  on  behalf  of  the  Missions  and  collecting 
money  for  their  support — the  engrossing  occupation  henceforth 
of  the  intervals  of  his  missionary  travels. 

But  it  was  not  in  the  vigorous,  self-reliant  Methodism  of  the 
new  Republic  that  Coke  was  most  needed.  The  second  American 
voyage  (1786-87)  brought  him  to  the  West  Indian  Islands. 
He  had  sailed  from  England,  in  September  of  the  former  year, 
on  a  vessel  bound  for  Halifax  in  Nova  Scotia,  under  instructions 
from  Wesley  to  meet  in  Conference  the  Preachers  of  British 
North  America  before  proceeding  to  the  United  States.  He 
took  with  him  two  young  missionaries  for  Nova  Scotia,  and 
a  third  designated  for  Antigua.  Driven  from  her  course  by 
furious  and  repeated  storms,  the  ship  "  already  half  a  wreck" 
landed  her  passengers  finally  at  St.  John,  Antigua.  Here  Coke 
found  a  Society  of  1,800  Methodists — mostly  negro  slaves — • 
gathered  under  the  care  of  John  Baxter,  shipwright  and  local 
preacher  {see  Chapter  V.).  White  people  and  black  thronged  to 
hear  the  visitor,  who  was  received  in  this  and  neighbouring 
islands  "  as  an  angel  of  God."  In  six  weeks  Methodism  was  well 
planted  in  the  Leeward  and  Windward  Islands  {see  pp.  50,  51). 

This  was  the  first  of  five  visits  to  the  West  Indies,  in  the 
course  of  which  Dr.  Coke  established  missions  on  all  the  principal 
islands  under  the  British  flag.  The  missionaries  were  to  him  as 
sons  ;  he  watched  over  their  welfare  with  constant  solicitude, 
and  supplied  their  needs  with  indulgent  liberality.  He  cor- 
responded with  them  wherever  he  might  be  ;  in  the  persecutions 
that  fell  upon  them  he  pleaded  their  cause  with  the  Governments 
of  England  and  of  Holland  {see  Chapter  V.)  ;  in  fact,  "  the  sup- 
plying the  missions  with  what  they  want  (not  to  save  the  public, 
but  to  carry  on  the  work)  superseded,"  in  his  estimate,  "  every 
other  consideration."  To  the  end  of  his  life  Dr.  Coke  stood  in 
a  peculiarly  paternal  relation  to  the  West  Indian  Mission :  his 
m.eans  were  heavily  taxed  for  its  subsistence,  and  a  large  pro- 
portion of  his  capital  was  sunk  in  its  fabrics.  Before  his  death 
he  saw  the  West  Indian  missionary  staff  increased  to  27,  and 
the  membership  to  close  upon  16,000. 

Coke's  fourth  visit  to  the  States  (1790-91)  was  cut  short  by 
the  tidings  of  Mr.  Wesley's  death.  He  reached  England  in 
time  to  attend,  in  June,  1791,  the  Irish  Conference,  over  which  he 
had  presided  as  Wesley's  representative  from  its  first  annual 


20  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

meeting  in  1782.  Nowhere  was  he  more  beloved  than  amongst 
his  warm-hearted  Irish  friends.  Yet  the  fear  lest  he  should 
assert  a  dictatorship,  which  all  were  determined  should  die  with 
Wesley,  led  to  his  supersession  from  the  Chair.  The  slight  was 
borne  in  silence,  though  severely  felt.  At  the  British  Conference, 
a  month  later,  William  Thompson  was  elected  President,  and  Dr. 
Coke  continued  in  the  office  of  Secretary.  Thanks  to  the  "  Deed 
of  Declaration  "  and  the  provision  it  had  made  for  the  continu- 
ance of  the  Conference  after  Wesley's  death  {see  p.  14),  the 
transition  to  the  new  order  was  safely  effected.  Dr.  Coke 
exerted  a  moderating  and  pacifying  influence  in  home  Methodism 
during  the  troubled  years  that  followed. 

While  Dr.  Coke's  horizon  embraced  Africa,  Asia,  and  America, 
he  did  not  overlook  nearer  necessities.  He  made  attempts  to 
carry  Gospel-teaching  to  the  distracted  land  of  France,  again 
and  again  reconnoitring  the  approaches  from  the  Channel 
Islands,  where  Methodism  was  now  strongly  established.  In 
1 79 1,  on  some  slight  encouragement,  he  bought  a  disused  church 
in  Paris,  then  in  the  throes  of  the  Revolution,  and  began  preach- 
ing there  ;  but  from  this  attempt  he  had  to  retire  discomfited. 
At  a  later  time  Dr.  Coke  employed  French-speaking  preachers 
to  minister  to  the  French  soldiers  confined  in  English  prison- 
camps,  who  responded  gratefully  to  this  attention.  On  a  request 
from  Methodist  soldiers  in  Gibraltar,  the  first  missionary  Chap- 
lain was  sent  thither  in  1804,  under  Coke's  direction  {see 
Chapter  X.). 

Nearer  home,  it  was  to  Dr.  Coke  that  Methodist  work  in  the 
Irish  and  Welsh  vernaculars  owed  its  inception— our  present 
Welsh-speaking  Districts  have  sprung  from  seed  of  his  sowing. 
He  had  a  similar  design  to  promote  Gaelic  preaching  in  the  Scot- 
tish Highlands,  for  which  however  the  agents  failed  him.  In 
unoccupied  districts  of  England  also,  to  which  Methodism  had 
not  yet  brought  its  message.  Coke  persuaded  the  Conference 
in  1805  to  plant  "  Home  Missions  "  ;  these  before  very  long 
grew  into  regular  Circuits.  All  the  undertakings  we  have  men- 
tioned depended  on  the  one  Mission  Fund,  which  was  raised 
mainly  by  Dr.  Coke's  personal  exertions  and  administered  under 
his  superintendence. 

Wesley  gave  Coke  much  liberty  in  his  missionary  campaigns, 
allowing  him  to  collect  subscriptions  in  the  Home  Circuits  to 
supply  the  foreign  exchequer.  His  soUcitations  extended  be- 
yond Methodist  limits,  and  he  became  an  unrivalled  expert  in 
the  art  of  begging  ;   though  he  declared  that  "  nothing  could  be 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  THOMAS  COKE     21 

more  repugnant  to  his  natural  feelings  than  to  become  an  avowed 
mendicant,"  exposing  himself  thereby  "  to  the  frowns  of  the  cove- 
tous, the  scoffs  of  the  profane,  and  the  sarcasms  of  infidelity." 
This  mode  of  raising  an  income  was  precarious,  and  proved  in- 
adequate as  the  Missions  multiplied,  while  their  extension  was 
determined  rather  by  the  opportunities  presenting  themselves 
to  Dr.  Coke  than  by  any  calculation  of  probable  resources. 
Hence,  in  1793  a  Committee  was  formed  by  the  Conference  to 
advise,  and  control,  the  Superintendent  of  the  Missions — an 
arrangement  renewed,  more  effectively,  in  1804.  Coke  had  been 
so  much  accustomed  to  proceed  on  his  personal  responsibility, 
and  had  so  largely  financed  the  Missions  out  of  his  private  re- 
sources, that  it  was  difficult  for  him  to  recognise  the  necessities 
of  Connexional  oversight.  He  expostulates  (in  1804)  with  the 
Committee  for  coming  between  himself  and  the  agents  abroad  ; 
and  he  makes  the  observation,  often  echoed  by  missionaries 
since,  that  "  a  body  of  men,  however  wise,  excellent,  and  holy, 
are  in  great  danger  of  being  too  severe,  especially  in  money 
matters."  Time  spent  in  Committee  which  might  have  been 
devoted  to  begging,  was  in  his  eyes  deplorably  wasted  :  "  My 
good,  dear  brethren,"  he  writes,  "  every  Friday  morning  you 
kept  me  among  you  we  lost  £10  1  "  Like  another  great  Welsh- 
man and  Methodist  leader  of  a  century  later,  the  lamented  Hugh 
Price  Hughes,  Thomas  Coke  heartily  believed  in  "  a  Committee 
of  one  !  "  His  accounts  were  published  at  irregular  intervals, 
but  it  is  clear  that  an  exact  and  faithful  record  was  kept.  Con- 
fident in  Dr.  Coke's  integrity  and  ability  as  missionary  director, 
the  Methodist  pubUc  tolerated  with  good  humour  his  peculiar 
business  methods. 

Had  it  not  been  for  Coke's  evangelistic  knight-errantry,  his 
daring  initiative  and  liberal  outlay,  the  Wesleyan  Missions  could 
never  have  developed  as  they  did  in  the  first  thirty  years,  nor 
attained  the  momentum  with  which  they  went  forward  after  his 
decease  ;  but  one  cannot  help  sympathizing  with  the  careful 
men  at  home,  who  had  to  find  ways  and  means  for  his  reckless- 
seeming  projects,  and  to  meet  the  burden  of  their  maintenance 
out  of  the  resources  of  a  young  Church  sorely  straitened  in  pro- 
viding for  its  domestic  work.  Coke  threw  himself  impetuously 
forward,  hearing  the  voice  of  God  and  sure  that  the  people  would 
follow.  He  was  the  man  for  the  hour  ;  his  temperament  and 
circumstances  enabled  him  to  take  a  course  that  would  have  been 
impossible  for  anyone  else,  but  which  was  owned  of  God  in  its. 
results. 


22  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

The  close  of  Dr.  Coke's  life  was  in  keeping  with  its  course. 
In  1 813  the  Charter  of  the  East  India  Company  was  renewed  by 
Parliament,  with  conditions  attached  which  at  last  opened  the 
door  for  the  prosecution  of  Christian  Missions  in  British  territory. 
Ceylon  offered  the  most  favourable  opening  for  a  first  attempt, 
and  Coke  resolved  to  lead  an  expedition  thither,  though  now  in 
his  sixty-sixth  year  and  conscious  of  the  infirmities  of  age.  To 
the  remonstrances  of  Drew  he  writes  :  "  I  am  now  dead  to  Europe 
and  alive  to  India.  God  Himself  has  said  to  me,  '  Go  to  Ceylon.' 
I  am  as  convinced  of  the  will  of  God  in  this  respect  as  that  I 
breathe, — so  fully  convinced  that,  methinks,  I  would  rather  be 
set  naked  on  the  coast  of  Ceylon,  without  clothes  and  without  a 
friend,  than  not  go  there." 

When  Dr.  Coke's  purpose  was  known  volunteers  were  soon 
forthcoming,  and  six  were  chosen  [stc  Chapter  IX).  At  the 
Conference,  held  at  Liverpool  in  July,  Dr.  Coke  unfolded  his 
plans  and  requested  approval.  They  were  strenuously  opposed 
— partly  on  the  ground  of  his  age  and  the  risk  to  himself,  but 
chiefly  because  of  the  poverty  of  the  Connexion,  the  costliness 
and  unknown  liabilities  of  the  undertaking,  and  the  existing 
debt  upon  the  Mission  Fund.  The  debate  was  adjourned  ;  and 
it  was  only  on  the  next  morning,  after  a  second  appeal  made  by 
Dr.  Coke  with  irresistible  pathos — when  he  pledged  himself  to 
the  entire  expense  of  the  outfit — that  opposition  was  disarmed. 
The  scene  was  one  which  could  never  be  forgotten  ;  to  the  impres- 
sions it  created  the  starting  of  the  first  Auxiliary  Society  at  Leeds 
in  the  following  October  [see  Chapter  III),  with  all  that  ensued 
from  this,  was  due.  "  Did  I  not  tell  you,"  said  Coke,  when  the 
decision  was  made,  "  that  God  would  answer  prayer  ?  " 

The  missionary  party  embarked  at  Portsmouth  on  December 
28th  with  the  January  fleet  of  the  East  India  Company,  sailing 
under  convoy  for  Bombay.  Dr.  Coke's  health  and  cheerfulness 
were  sustained,  notwithstanding  rough  weather  and  his  incessant 
labours,  until  two  days  before  the  end,  when  he  showed  signs  of 
unwonted  \^  languor.  But  neither  his  companions  nor  himself 
apprehended  any  fatal  issue  until,  on  the  morning  of  May  3rd, 
he  was  discovered  lying  lifeless  on  the  floor  of  his  cabin.  He 
had  passed  away  under  an  apoplectic  seizure,  apparently  with- 
out a  struggle. 

In  the  evening  of  the  same  day  Dr.  Coke's  body  was  com- 
mitted to  the  waters  of  the  Indian  Ocean, — a  fit  burying-place 
for  his  restless  frame.  His  eager  spirit  found  a  swift  escape  to 
the  presence  of  the  Master  he  had  served  with  a  single-hearted 


THE  THREE  MIGHTIES  23 

love.  With  all  its  faults,  his  life-work  stood  fast,  for  it  was 
"  wrought  in  God."  Thomas  Coke  bequeathed  to  Methodism  a 
world-mission  in  active  operation,  and  already  spread  from  the 
Western  to  the  Eastern  Ocean. 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Three  Mighties 

The  force  with  which  the  missionary  fever  had  seized  the  Church 
of  the  early  nineteenth  century  is  evidenced  by  the  manner  in 
which  it  possessed  the  three  foremost  men  amongst  the  younger 
Methodist  ministry — Jabez  Bunting,  Richard  Watson,  and  Robert 
Newton.  No  English  Church  at  that  time  could  boast  a  group 
of  leaders  more  richly  endowed  for  service  and  more  closely 
linked  in  fellowship  than  were  these  "  three  mighties,"  whose 
portraits  may  still  be  seen  hanging  side  by  side  on  the  walls  of 
old-fashioned  Methodist  homes.  They  were  of  about  the  same 
age,— Bunting's  life  extending  from  1779  to  1858,  Watson's  from 
1781  to  1833,  and  Newton's  from  1780  to  1854.  The  ministry 
of  Bunting  and  Newton  commenced  in  1799,  that  of  Watson  in 
1795,  when  he  was  but  a  lad  of  14  1  The  course  of  the  last-named 
was,  however,  broken  by  unsettlement  of  view  and  by  ill-health, 
so  that  for  eleven  years  (i  801-12)  he  was  severed  from  his  Wes- 
leyan  brethren. 

Seen  together  on  the  missionary  platform,  as  they  not  unfre- 
quently  were,  this  trio  formed  a  very  impressive  combination. 
Watson  and  Newton  stood  both  of  them  over  six  feet  in  height — 
the  former  of  spare  and  emaciated  figure,  with  a  face  of  singular 
refinement,  an  air  of  lofty  thought,  and  an  unaffected  dignity ; 
the  latter  overflowing  with  health  and  good  spirits,  nobly  simple 
and  genial  in  bearing,  while  he  was  gifted  with  a  voice  incom- 
parable in  its  blended  melody  and  majesty.  Coming  short  of 
the  stature  of  his  two  compeers.  Bunting  nevertheless  showed 
a  tall  and  goodly  presence.  Without  the  soaring  intellect  of 
Watson  or  the  captivating  eloquence  of  Newton,  he  was  a  power- 
ful thinker  and  a  finished,  incisive,  and  impressive  speaker,  sur- 
passing both  the  others  in  the  range  of  his  abilities.  His  alertness 
and  comprehensiveness  of  mind,  his  practical  sagacity,  and  his 


24  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

powers  of  debate  and  administration,  gave  Bunting  inevitably 
a  foremost  place  in  public  affairs  in  which  he  took  part.  For 
thirty  years,  as  someone  has  said,  "  Jabez  Bunting's  brain  was 
the  focus  of  Methodism  "  ;  no  other  man  has  come  so  near 
attaining  John  Wesley's  ascendency.  Bunting  was  the  centre 
of  the  group  we  are  delineating  ;  he  "  grappled  "  Watson  and 
Newton  to  himself  "  with  hoops  of  steel."  On  these  men  Thomas 
Coke's  mantle  fell  at  his  departure  ;  they  consecrated  the  strength 
of  their  prime  to  the  Foreign  Missionary  movement,  seeing  in  it 
the  divinely  purposed  outcome  of  the  Methodist  revival.  Vir- 
tually they  made  the  Missionary  Society,  and  the  great  cause 
they  had  espoused  proved  the  making  of  them. 

Dr.  Coke  loved  the  young  preachers,  and  was  fond  of  taking 
them  with  him  on  his  rounds  of  begging.  In  this  way  he  laid 
hold  of  Robert  Newton,  and  imbued  him  with  the  missionary 
passion  ;  the  old  man's  "  dreams  "  became  the  young's  man's 
"  visions."  With  Jabez  Bunting  Coke's  associations  were  inti- 
mate. Bunting's  rare  abilities  were  quickly  recognised  and 
turned  to  account  by  the  older  chiefs  of  Methodism.  At  the  end 
of  his  Probation  (1803)  he  was  stationed  in  London,  and  was  set 
to  unravel  the  tangle  in  which  the  funds  of  the  Missions  and 
the  Book  Room  had  become  involved.  This  task  he  accomplished 
to  every  one's  satisfaction.  In  1808  he  was  appointed  Assistant 
Secretary  of  the  Conference,  in  aid  of  Dr.  Coke.  When  the  mis- 
sionary leader  appealed,  in  1813,  for  volunteers  to  accompany 
him  to  India,  Bunting  stepped  forward.  He  was  then  34  years 
of  age,  with  a  delicate  wife  and  a  brood  of  little  children  ;  he 
held  the  office  of  Chairman  of  his  District,  and  already  exercised  a 
potent  voice  in  the  counsels  of  the  Connexion ;  but  no  such  con- 
siderations deterred  him.  The  protests  of  his  friends,  including 
Coke  himself,  and  the  warning  that  Conference  would  refuse  its 
consent  to  his  going  abroad,  hardly  restrained  him  from  the 
sacrifice.  Forbidden  to  descend  the  mine  himself,  Jabez  Bunting 
took  it  for  his  part  to  '  hold  the  ropes  '  for  others.  Henceforth 
it  became  a  main  purpose  of  his  ministry  at  home  to  further  the 
work  of  God  abroad. 

The  fruit  of  this  dedication  was  speedily  seen.  Dr.  Coke  had 
visited  Leeds  in  the  early  summer  of  181 3,  when  contemplating 
his  mission  to  the  East.  He  discussed  with  several  of  the  Leeds 
laymen  the  prospects  of  the  Missionary  Fund,  the  care  of  which 
must  now  rest  on  other  shoulders  than  his  own.  These  gentlemen, 
William  Brigg  and  William  Gilyard  Scarth  in  particular,  suggested 
the  idea  of  a  Methodist  Missionary  Society,  which  should  make 


Rev.  Jabez  Bunting,  D.D. 


Drawn  by  J.  S.  Heape. 


THE  THREE  MIGHTIES  25 

the  Missions  for  the  future  "  a  public  cause,"  no  longer  dependent 
on  the  exertions  of  a  single  man.  This  proposal,  mooted  privately 
at  the  ensuing  Liverpool  Conference  [see  p.  22)  was  taken  up  forth- 
with by  the  newly  appointed  Superintendent  of  the  Leeds 
Circuit  and  the  Chairman  of  the  Leeds  District,  who  were  respect- 
ively George  Morley  (subsequently  Treasurer,  and  afterwards 
Secretary  of  the  Missionary  Society)  and  Jabez  Bunting,  The 
latter  promptly  put  the  suggestion  of  Coke's  friends  into  execu- 
tion, with  the  co-operation  of  ministers  and  laymen  of  his  own 
and  neighbouring  Circuits  and  the  approval  of  the  Missionary 
Committee  in  London.  Assured  of  support,  he  worked  out  the  plan 
of  an  "  Auxiliary  Missionary  Society  "  for  the  Leeds  District. 
These  preparations  made,  he  summoned  a  public  gathering  of  the 
Methodist  people  of  the  District  to  consider  the  missionary  crisis, 
and  take  action  thereupon. 

The  assembly  met  in  the  old  St.  Peter's  Chapel  (or  "  Boggard 
House  ")  at  Leeds,  on  the  6th  day  of  October,  1813  :  it  was  crowded, 
unanimous,  and  enthusiastic  ;  and  it  represented  unmistakably 
the  mind  and  strength  of  Yorkshire  Methodism.  Thomas  Thomp- 
son, a  Hull  merchant  and  a  philanthropic  Member  of  Parliament, 
occupied  the  Chair  of  the  meeting,  surrounded  on  the  platform 
by  the  most  revered  and  able  men  whom  Methodism  in  the  county 
could  command,  including  two  Ex-presidents  of  the  Conference, 
James  Wood  and  Charles  Atmore — men  of  Wesley's  time — whose 
concurrence  endorsed  the  proceedings.  By  its  voice  and  vote,  so 
far  as  the  Leeds  and  neighbouring  Districts  were  concerned, 
Methodism  was  committed  to  Foreign  Missions. 

The  date  of  that  meeting  is  counted  the  birthday  of  the  Wesleyan 
Methodist  Missionary  Society.  Other  Districts  followed  suit ; 
the  Conference  of  18 14  sanctioned  the  action  taken,  and  com- 
mended the  example  to  the  entire  Connexion,  By  the  year  181 8 
the  formation  of  Auxiliary  Societies,  upon  the  Yorkshire  plan, 
had  extended  through  the  other  Districts,  and  the  Conference  was 
able  to  centralise  them  in  the  fully  constituted  W.M.M.S.,  with 
its  General  Treasurers,  General  Secretaries,  and  Executive  Com- 
mittee, of  ministers  and  laymen,  sitting  in  London.  Bunting 
played  a  leading  part  in  all  these  developments. 

The  step  taken  by  the  youthful  Chairman  of  the  Leeds  District 
revealed  his  courageous  faith,  and  his  powers  of  generalship. 
The  London  Missionary  Society  and  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  had  set  the  example  in  the  formation  of  Local 
Auxiharies,  under  whose  direction  annual  public  meetings  were 
held  and  a  net-work  of  collectors  was  spread  over  the  country. 


26  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

This  mode  of  working  was  new,  however,  to  Methodism  ;  its 
Chapels  had  hardly  been  employed  for  any  purposes  beyond  those 
connected  with  the  worship  of  the  congregation  and  the  fellowship 
of  the  Church  in  the  given  place  ;  no  other  uses  were  contemplated 
in  their  trust-deeds.  Conservative  prejudices  were  excited  and 
grave  heads  shaken  over  the  new  departure.  The  Leeds  experih 
ment  had  no  Conference  warrant  behind  it ;  high  authorities 
pronounced  it  an  "  unconstitutional  proceeding,"  a  "  dangerous 
precedent  !  "  The  Rules  of  the  District  Missionary  Society,  and 
the  appointment  of  its  officers,  possessed  no  legitimation  beyond 
that  given  them  by  the  show  of  hands  in  a  public  meeting.  By 
the  course  they  took.  Bunting  and  his  friends  exposed  themselves 
in  case  of  failure  to  severe  censure  ;  they  ran  the  risk  of  stirring 
up  Connexional  strife.  The  feeling  of  not  a  few  fearful  saints  was 
expressed  by  the  old  Preacher  who  ejaculated,  at  one  of  the  early 
meetings  in  which  Bunting  spoke,  "  We  must  put  down  the  im- 
pudence of  that  young  man." 

Bunting  and  Morley,  in  effect,  forced  the  hand  of  the  Conference 
by  their  decisive  action.  That  body  at  its  previous  meeting  in 
Liverpool  {see  p.  22)  had  been  hardly  persuaded  to  sanction  Dr. 
Coke's  mission  to  the  East ;  oppressed  by  home  necessities,  it 
failed  to  meet  the  emergency  arising  from  his  removal  and  to 
provide  for  the  replenishing  of  the  missionary  Exchequer,  which 
was  nearing  exhaustion.  Dr.  Coke  was  leaving  behind  him,  added 
to  the  burden  of  the  older  missions,  a  new  liability  of  undefined 
extent  in  the  prospective  annual  cost  of  the  work  in  Ceylon — there 
must  be  a  signal  advance  in  missionary  contributions  throughout 
the  Connexion,  or  a  disastrous  retreat.  Jabez  Bunting  realised 
the  situation  in  all  its  gravity,  and  caught  the  "  psychological 
moment  "  for  turning  it  to  account.  Gauging  aright  the  popular 
feeling,  he  discerned  and  seized  the  opportunity  for  a  great  stroke 
of  missionary  policy.  In  a  short  month  after  Bunting's  coming 
to  Leeds,  the  whole  outlook  was  changed.  The  St.  Peter's 
meeting  of  October  the  6th  made  the  maintenance  of  the  Missions 
emphatically  "  a  public  cause  "  ;  the  consent  of  Methodist 
Yorkshire  gave  earnest  of  the  disposition  of  Methodism  through- 
out the  country.  Bunting  had  in  point  of  fact  submitted  the 
case  to  the  verdict  of  the  people  ;  the  response  he  elicited,  by  its 
hopefulness  and  resolution,  afforded  a  refreshing  contrast  to  the 
fears  of  the  Conference  of  three  months  before. 

When  the  next  Conference  met,  to  find  the  missionary  move- 
ment spread  from  end  to  end  of  the  Connexion  and  funds  flow- 
ing into  the  depleted  treasury,  criticism  was  silenced,  and  the 


THE  THREE  MIGHTIES  27 

Missionary  Society  was  put  in  the  way  of  establishment  upon 
its  permanent  basis.  Tlie  approval  of  Jabez  Bunting's  conduct 
was  shown  by  his  election  at  that  Conference  (1814)  to  the  ranks 
of  the  Legal  Hundred — the  first  man  to  be  chosen  otherwise 
than  by  seniority — and  by  his  promotion  to  the  Secretary's  Chair 
in  succession  to  Dr.  Coke.  From  1818-20  and  again  from  1821- 
24,  while  stationed  in  London,  he  was  the  official  Secretary  of  the 
Missions,  and  remained  permanently  so  from  1833  to  the  end  of 
his  course.  In  or  out  of  ofiice,  so  long  as  he  lived,  Bunting's 
authority  was  paramount  in  missionary  affairs. 

Richard  Watson,  restored  in  the  previous  year  through  Jabez 
Bunting's  mediation  to  the  Wesleyan  Itinerancy,  was  "  travel- 
ling "  at  this  time  in  the  Wakefield  Circuit.  Since  his  retirement 
(1801),  he  had  served  for  a  few  years  in  the  ministry  of  the 
Methodist  New  Connexion  (founded  in  1797)  ;  withdrawing  from 
this  service  through  failure  of  health,  he  was  occupied  for  a  while 
in  journalism.  Being  Bunting's  near  neighbour,  at  Wakefield, 
Watson  was  readily  enlisted  to  help  his  friend's  missionary 
campaign.  He  threw  into  the  enterprise,  without  reserve,  his 
splendid  powers,  now  coming  to  their  maturity.  On  the  morning 
of  the  missionary  assembly  he  preached  a  mighty  sermon,  which 
was  widely  circulated  in  the  following  months,  upon  Ezekiel's 
vision  of  the  Dry  Bones  ;  the  printed  appeal  which  emanated 
from  the  missionary  meeting,  was  likewise  of  his  composition. 
Hitherto  little  heard  of,  Watson  sprang  suddenly  into  fame. 
Along  with  Bunting,  he  was  in  demand  for  Missionary  sermons 
and  speeches  up  and  down  the  country.  He  rendered  invaluable 
service  in  the  foundation  of  the  District  Auxiliaries. 

Watson  combined  literary  and  pulpit  gifts  of  an  order  unique 
in  the  Methodist  ministry  of  his  generation  ;  he  ranked  amongst 
preachers  with  such  men  as  Robert  Hall  and  William  Jay.  His 
mind  was  lofty  and  discursive,  strong  both  in  logic  and  imagina- 
tion ;  his  utterance  flowed  in  a  pure,  full,  and  richly  varied  strain  ; 
his  sensibilities  were  exquisitely  strung,  and  there  was  in  him  a 
vein  of  pathos,  deepened  and  chastened  by  physical  suffering, 
which  profoundly  touched  the  hearts  of  men.  To  cultivated  and 
philanthropic  minds  Watson  appealed  with  singular  effect ;  he 
fascinated  and  subdued.  He  brought  to  the  missionary  argument 
elements  of  philosophic  reflexion  and  poetic  feeling  that  no  other 
advocate  could  contribute.  While  Bunting  planned,  persuaded, 
organized,  controlled,  Watson  illuminated  and  inspired  the 
missionary  march  of  Methodism. 

Richard  Watsou  was  appointed  General  Missionary  Secretary 


28  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

on  his  removal  from  Hull  to  London  in  1816 ;  for  five  years  he 
united  this  office  with  his  Circuit  ministry — in  the  excessive  toil 
of  that  period  the  foundations  of  his  fatal  malady  were  laid.  In 
1 82 1  he  became  a  "  separated  "  Secretary,  and  so  continued  for 
six  years  longer.*  Leaving  London  for  the  North  in  1827,  under 
the  title  of  "  Honorary  Secretary  "  he  continued  to  serve  the 
Society  by  correspondence,  until  the  Conference  of  1832  recalled 
him  to  the  Mission  House.  But  his  long  and  brave  struggle  with 
physical  disease  was  nearing  its  conclusion.  The  release  came 
on  January  8th,  1833,  in  the  fifty-second  year  of  his  age. 

Watson  was  the  first  to  hold  the  Secretaryship  for  any  length 
of  years  ;  he  proved  an  effective,  and  in  many  ways  exemplary, 
missionary  chief.  With  all  his  bookishness  and  his  abstracted 
manner,  he  had  practical  insight  and  clear  perceptions.  He 
could  inform  himself  rapidly  and  surely,  with  the  journalist's 
facility,  on  any  subject  that  required  attention  ;  and  had  the 
good  sense  to  consult  and  defer  to  expert  knowledge  in  matters 
outside  of  his  competence.  He  was  a  sound  judge  of  men,  and 
took  a  lively  and  watchful  interest  in  pubUc  affairs.  He  pos- 
sessed, above  all,  the  "  heart  at  leisure  from  itself  "  and  the 
sympathetic  imagination  which  enabled  him,  though  no  foreign 
traveller,  to  reahse  the  position  of  exiles  in  other  climes  and  to 
enter  into  their  feelings  and  needs.  The  missionaries  regarded 
him  with  reverence  and  affection.  The  official  in  him  never 
overlaid  the  man  and  the  brother  minister.  His  letters  have 
everywhere  the  touch  of  "  style  "  upon  them,  and  manifest  an 
ease  and  play  of  humour  that  one  would  not  suspect  from  his 
severer  compositions.  When  a  pamphlet  had  to  be  written  in 
defence  of  the  Society,  or  an  address  of  courtesy  or  expostulation 
sent  to  some  Colonial  Officer  or  Government  department,  Wat- 
son's pen  was  in  requisition.  He  collaborated  with  Bunting  in 
the  framing  of  the  Rules  and  Constitution  of  the  Missionary 
Society,  which  took  their  conclusive  shape  in  1818.  For  many 
years  he  prepared  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Society  ;  in  his 
time  the  reading  of  it  was  a  prominent  and  welcome  feature  of 
the  great  London  meetings.  Into  the  dullest  financial  details, 
and  the  dry  routine  of  office-work,  he  infused  an  ethereal  spirit. 
Richard  Watson  transacted  missionary  affairs  with  the  grand 
air  of  a  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  ! 

Jabez   Bunting   was   supreme   in   Conference   discussion   and 

*  The  Book  Room  and  the  Mission  House  were  the  only  "  Depart- 
ments "  of  Wesleyan  Methodiam  at  that  date  ;  and  office  in  each  of 
them  was  limited  to  a  term  of  six  years. 


THE  THREE  MIGHTIES  29 

Committee-management ;  Richard  Watson  at  the  writer's  desk, 
or  in  the  intellectual  circle  ;  but  Robert  Newton  was  the  darling 
of  the  people.  Newton  was  one  of  Nature's  noblemen,  on  whom 
Divine  grace  had  set  a  luminous  signature.  His  kingly  presence, 
matchless  voice,  and  artless,  enchanting  oratory  made  him  a 
born  master  of  assemblies — the  most  popular  English  speaker 
of  his  time,  if  one  should  estimate  popularity  by  the  multitudes 
who  gathered  to  hear  him  day  by  day  in  all  parts  of  England, 
through  a  ministry  covering  half  a  century.  He  exercised  the 
same  spell  on  his  visit  to  the  United  States  in  1840,  which  was 
in  fact  a  national  event.  The  work  of  missions  to  the  heathen 
supplied  Newton's  most  frequent  and  inspiring  theme.  In  its 
furtherance  his  incessant  journeys  were  made,  his  splendid 
strength  was  lavished,  and  his  unrivalled  sway  over  audiences 
of  all  kinds  was  exercised,  with  a  joyous  self-abandonment. 

In  their  early  ministry,  at  Huddersfield,  Newton  and  Bunting 
were  thrown  together  and  became  fast  friends.  At  the  time  of 
the  Leeds  foundation-meeting  Newton  was  residing  in  London, 
but  next  year  saw  him  Watson's  successor  in  the  Wakefield 
Circuit ;  he  made  his  dSbut  on  the  missionary  platform  at  the 
first  Leeds  anniversary  in  the  autumn  following  (181 4).  From 
this  time  he  was  in  constant  requisition  for  missionary  occasions, 
in  town  and  village,  all  over  Methodism.  The  announcement  of 
Robert  Newton's  name  was  sufficient  to  crowd  the  largest  build- 
ing in  which  he  might  appear.  His  popularity  was  of  the  most 
wholesome  kind  ;  with  all  their  pleasantry  and  their  art  of 
winning  large  collections,  his  sermons  and  speeches  invariably 
aimed  at  the  conversion  of  sinners  and  the  consecration  of  talent 
and  wealth  to  the  service  of  God  ;  in  these  respects  they  were 
abundantly  fruitful.  He  created  the  atmosphere  of  the  mis- 
sionary meeting ;  he  set  the  standard  of  its  speaking  and  its 
giving.  More  than  any  other  man,  Robert  Newton  won  for  the 
cause  the  firm  hold  upon  the  affections  of  the  Methodist  common 
people  in  which  its  strength  resides.  The  premiership  in  advo- 
cacy belongs  to  the  third  of  our  three  master-builders,  although 
he  never  held,  nor  desired,  a  place  on  the  official  staff  of  the 
Society. 

It  is  related  that  as  Robert  Newton  lay  dying  he  was  seen 
"  suddenly  to  raise  himself  on  his  pillow,  and  with  a  superhuman 
smile  to  beckon  repeatedly  to  the  further  end  of  the  room,"  as 
if  to  some  unearthly  presence  ;  he  "  bowed  and  waved  his  hand, 
an  expression  of  the  highest  rapture  resting  on  his  features. 
Then,  as  if  in  answer  to  some  inquiry,  he  said  :  '  I  am  a  Methodist 


30  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Preacher,  an  old  Methodist  Preacher.'  "  With  this  good  con- 
fession on  his  hps,  Robert  Newton  joined  the  Church  triumphant. 
Glorying  in  the  Gospel  that  had  so  fully  saved  himself,  he  would 
have  it  proclaimed  "  in  all  creation  under  heaven  "  ;  and  he 
strove  to  set  every  man  upon  this  business  whom  his  mighty 
voice  could  reach. 

A-round  the  chiefs  we  have  described  a  great  band  of  helpers 
gathered  :  there  was  William  Dawson  of  Barnbow,  the  Local 
Preacher  whose  speech  formed  the  climax  of  the  first  Leeds 
meeting,  and  who  for  many  years  shared  with  Dr.  Newton  the 
chief  honours  of  the  Methodist  platform  ;  there  was  Dr.  Adam 
Clarke,  whose  evangelical  ardour,  vast  erudition,  and  unique 
personal  influence  gave  prestige  to  the  infant  Society  ;  James 
Wood,  Ex-president  and  the  first  ministerial  Treasurer — vener- 
ated for  his  sanctity  and  rich  pastoral  ministry  ;  Joseph  Butter- 
worth  and  Thomas  Thompson,  Members  of  Parliament  and  men 
of  God,  who  in  succession  filled  the  office  of  Lay  Treasurer  ; 
James  Buckley  and  Jonathan  Edmondson,  the  first  pair  of  Secre- 
taries serving  the  Society  after  1813  ;  Walter  Griffith — the  wise, 
genial,  graceful  Irishman,  a  bosom  friend  of  Bunting's — whose 
hearty  support  as  President  of  the  Conference  in  181 3-1 4  sus- 
tained the  success  of  the  Leeds  endeavour  ;  Joseph  Taylor  the 
second.  President  in  1834 — ^  missionary  to  the  West  Indies, 
then  the  first-appointed  resident  Secretary  of  the  Society,  on 
whom  the  heaviest  labour  of  its  current  business  and  correspon- 
dence devolved — for  years  the  trusted  colleague  of  Watson  and 
of  Bunting  ;  Richard  Reece  and  Thomas  Jackson,  both  speakers 
at  the  first  meeting  and  eminent  Presidents,  who  lived  to  be  in 
turn  the  patriarchs  of  Methodism  ;  and  "  the  others,"  beyond 
numbering,  "  whose  names  are  in  the  book  of  life." 
*  «       «  *  * 

Space  fails  for  tnore  than  a  slight  reference  to  the  men  who  in 
honourable  succession  have  subsequently  served  upon  the  Mission 
Staff  at  home.  John  Beecham  (1831-56),  and  Elijah  Hoole 
(1834-72),  for  many  years  sat  by  Dr.  Bunting's  side  at  the  Mission 
House.  Dr.  Hoole  was  a  man  of  Indian  missionary  experience 
and  learning  (p.  120),  of  first-rate  business  ability,  and  fine  Chris- 
tian courtesy,  who  lived  in  and  for  the  Society.  Dr.  Beecham 
was  unsurpassed  in  thoroughness,  patience,  and  sagacity — a 
missionary  statesman,  able  to  grasp  and  handle  matters  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  in  their  relation  to  questions  of  Church  polity 
and. civil  government.  The  Affiliated  Conferences  {see  Chapter 
XL), are  his  chief  monument. 


COLONIAL  PIONEERS  31 

In  the  years  1851-68  a  notable  pair  of  colleagues  occupied 
secretarial  chairs — George  Osborn  and  William  Arthur,  the  fore- 
most Conference  leaders  of  their  day.  Dr.  Osborn  inherited 
much  of  the  spirit  and  power  of  Dr.  Bunting.  Mr.  Arthur  (an 
ex-Indian  missionary,  see  p.  123)  united  a  modern  outlook  and 
wide  culture  with  high  evangelical  fervour  ;  the  new  departures 
of  the  Society  in  Italy  and  China  made  in  the  'sixties,  and  the 
revival  of  our  Indian  Missions  {see  Chapter  XIV.),  owed  much 
to  him.  After  Dr.  Newton,  William  Arthur  was  the  most  com- 
manding figure  on  our  missionary  platform.  William  B.  Boyce 
(1861-76)  brought  a  wide  knowledge  of  South  African  and 
Australian  affairs  to  the  Mission  House  [see  pp.  90,  142),  with  great 
powers  of  application,  shrewd  insight,  and  a  keen  wit.  Luke  H. 
Wiseman  (1868-75)  and  George  T.  Perks  (1868-77) — "  par  nobile 
fratrum,"  honoured  and  beloved — followed  Osborn  and  Arthur 
at  Bishopsgate,  soon  to  be  sadly  snatched  away  by  death.  Their 
successors — John  Kilner  (1876-88)  and  Ebenezer  E.  Jenkins, 
(1877-88),  Marmaduke  C.  Osborn  (1877-91),  William  Morley 
Punshon  (1878-81),  George  W.  Olver  (1881-1900),  down  to  the 
present  worthy  of&cers  of  the  Society — are  men  known  to  the 
present  generation  ;  it  is  needless  to  recall  their  image.  Amongst 
the  succession  of  valued  Lay  Treasurers  of  the  Society  (who 
belong  to  its  inner  cabinet),  beginning  with  Thomas  Thompson, 
M.P.  {see  p.  25),  Thomas  Farmer  held  the  purse-strings  for  twenty- 
five  years  (1837-62).  He  gave  to  this  office  a  new  importance, 
making  it  the  business  and  satisfaction  of  his  life. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Colonial  Pioneers 

Methodism  had  spread  overseas  a  quarter  of  a  century  before 
Thomas  Coke  began  his  voyages.  Its  growth  on  Colonial  soil 
resembled  that  of  the  British  Empire,  the  extension  of  which 
came  about  in  the  first  instance  through  sporadic  private  adven- 
ture, this  being  followed  by  local  association  inviting  the  con- 
trol and  fostering  care  of  the  Mother  Country,  through  which 
the^  dependencies  have  been  reared  to  adult  nationhood.  The 
daughter  Churches  of  Methodism  have  passed  through  a  parallel 


32  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

development.  We  shall  trace  in  this  chapter  the  Colonial  work  of 
our  Missions  through  its  earlier  stages  until  the  year  1833,  which 
was  critical  in  various  respects.  The  formation  of  the  Af&liated 
Conferences,  with  the  events  leading  thereto,  will  occupy  our 
attention  in  Chapter  XI.  Thereafter  Colonial  Methodism  passes 
beyond  our  purview. 

The  West  Indies  and  ■  South  Africa,  as  Colonial  lands,  come 
under  the  heading  of  this  chapter.  But  in  the  former  case  our 
Church  was  mainly  concerned  with  the  negroes,  and  South 
African  Methodism  has  from  the  first  been  deeply  involved  in 
heathen-missionary  work.  It  is  necessary  therefore  to  set 
South  Africa  and  the  West  Indies  apart,  being  countries  whose 
Methodist  history  departs  from  the  Colonial  type.  The  history 
of  New  Zealand,  again,  difiers  widely  from  that  of  Australia. 
The  Maoris  were  there  our  primary  objective  ;  and  Christian 
Missions  opened  the  way  for  colonisation.  The  original  New 
Zealand  Mission  resembled  those  of  other  South  Sea  Islands  ; 
its  place  falls  therefore  in  Chapter  VIII. 

North  America  and  Australia  remain  for  our  present  considera- 
tion. On  each  of  these  continents  the  Church  had,  and  still 
has,  native  questions  to  face.  But  while  it  has  not  ignored 
either  the  American  Indians  or  the  Australian  Aborigines,  in 
neither  instance  were  these  its  first  solicitude  ;  in  both  fields 
the  Native  work  has  depended  on  the  Colonial,  and  is  over- 
shadowed by  it. 

In  the  Colonies  Methodism  began  spontaneously,  through  the 
over-flowing  life  of  the  home  Church.  Converted  immigrants 
and  soldiers  carrying  on  their  lips  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  like 
the  first  believers  dispersed  from  Jerusalem,  went  everywhere 
"  speaking  the  word."  Springing  from  this  wind-borne  seed, 
the  Gospel  took  root  on  American  and  African  and  Australian 
shores.  Local  Preachers  and  Class-leaders — often  men  in  humble 
walks  of  life,  seeking  their  bread  in  exile — were  our  first  mis- 
sionaries. The  little  struggling  Churches  which  these  faithful 
witnesses  gathered  about  them,  reported  themselves  to  Mr. 
Wesley  or  to  the  Conference  in  England,  and  invited  help.  Mis- 
sionaries were  sent  out  who  took  charge  of  the  infant  Societies, 
established  them  in  the  Methodist  doctrine  and  discipline,  and 
made  them  centres  of  evangelism.  New  Preachers  were  raised 
up  from  the  Churches  thus  formed,  and  the  range  of  itinerancy 
extended.  Circuits  were  mapped  out,  with  their  superintending 
and  assisting  ministers  ;  the  Circuits  were  organized  into  Districts  ; 
and  these  finally  into  Conferences.     Thus  the  system  of  Methodism 


COLONIAL  PIONEERS  33 

reproduced  itself  in  Greater  Britain,  from  its  nucleus  in  the 
Class-meeting  and  the  village  Society  up  to  the  legislative 
Conference. 

Wales  gave  to  Methodism  Thomas  Coke  ;  Ireland  furnished 
many  of  the  pioneers  and  founders  who  followed  him.  The 
records  of  Colonial  and  American  Methodism,  like  the  history 
of  the  British  Empire,  owe  some  of  their  finest  chapters  to  the 
enterprise,  courage,  and  versatile  ability  of  Irish  leaders. 


The  Older  American  Colonies 

Early  in  the  eighteenth  century  a  small  community  of  German 
Protestant  refugees  from  the  Palatinate*  settled  in  county  Lim- 
erick. Lacking  religious  ordinances,  "  the  Palatines  "  had  sunk 
into  a  deplorable  condition,  when  Methodist  preaching  reached 
them  in  1749.  A  great  change  was  speedily  wrought  in  the 
immigrants  ;  and  when  John  Wesley  visited  their  hamlets  in 
1756,  he  found  "  a  plain,  artless,  serious  people,"  with  a  growing 
Methodist  Society  in  their  midst.  Their  poverty  compelled  a 
second  migration.  A  party  of  the  Irish  Palatines  sailed  for  New 
York  in  1760,  including  Philip  Embury,  a  Local  Preacher  and  a 
carpenter  by  trade,  and  his  wife,  Mary  Switzer  ;  Philip's  cousin, 
Barbara  Heck,  with  her  husband  and  a  second  contingent  from 
the  clan,  followed  shortly  afterwards.  In  the  new  country  the 
immigrants  lost  their  religious  zeal ;  Embury  desisted  from 
preaching,  until,  in  1766,  he  was  roused  by  the  appeal  of  his 
cousin  Barbara  :  "  You  must  preach  to  us  here,"  cried  she,  "  or 
we  shall  all  go  to  hell ;  and  God  will  require  our  blood  at  your 
hands  !  "  Embury  began  to  preach  in  his  own  house,  and  formed 
a  Society  Class  of  five  persons.  Other  lapsed  or  isolated  Metho- 
dists joined  this  Httle  band,  and  the  seedling  of  American 
Methodism  took  root. 

Outgrowing  Embury's  cottage,  the  congregation  moved  to  a 
room  near  the  barracks,  where  it  attracted  some  of  the  English 
soldiers.  Amongst  these  appeared  one  day,  early  in  1767,  an 
officer  of  benevolent  aspect  wearing  a  green  shade  over  his  right 
eye.  This  was  Captain  Thomas  Webb,  a  spiritual  son  of  John 
Wesley  and  a  zealous  Local  Preacher.  The  accession  of  this  "  man 
of  fire  "  (as  Wesley  describes  him)  greatly  stimulated  the  Society  ; 
the  fame  of  the  Captain's  preaching,  and  of  his  striking  figure, 

*  The  old  name  of  the  Rhenish  Provinces  in  Western  Germany, 
which  are  predominantly  Roman  Catholic. 

C 


34  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

spread  through  the  town.  Larger  premises  were  hired,  which 
in  turn  became  too  small.  Barbara  Heck  now  proposed  building 
a  church  :  Captain  Webb  headed  the  subscription-list,  to  which 
the  names  of  prominent  New  York  citizens  were  added  ;  the 
poorer  members  of  Society  contributed  the  work  of  their  hands. 
Wesley  sent  money,  books,  and  a  clock.  So  in  1768  the  Old  John 
Street  Church  of  New  York,  which  is  accounted  the  cradle  of 
American  Methodism,  was  built.  All  this  was  a  purely  lay 
creation,* 

The  priority  of  New  York  Methodism  is,  however,  disputed 
by  Maryland.  In  that  State,  some  time  between  1760  and  1766, 
an  Irish  farmer  and  Local  Preacher  of  the  name  of  Robert  Straw- 
bridge  settled  at  Sam's  Creek,  and  quickly  opened  his  commission. 
A  man  of  uncommon  pulpit-power,  Strawbridge's  preaching 
from  the  outset  was  widely  acceptable,  and  Methodism  spread 
in  the  first  generation  much  more  rapidly  in  Maryland  and  the 
Southern  States  than  in  New  York  and  New  England.  Straw- 
bridge  became  "  virtually  an  Itinerant,"  travelling  over  an 
extensive  round  and  "  preaching  with  an  ardour  and  fluency 
which  drew  hearers  in  multitudes  to  his  rustic  assemblies."  His 
neighbours  combined  to  manage  his  farm  during  his  long  and 
frequent  absences.  "  Wherever  he  went,  he  raised  up  Preachers"; 
the  little  Sam's  Creek  Society,  worshipping  in  a  rough-hewn  log- 
chapel,  sent  out  a  large  proportion  of  the  first  Itinerants  reared 
on  American  soil. 

Maryland  Methodism  was  true-born,  but  ruggedly  independent. 
Strawbridge  and  his  people  made  no  appeals  for  British  help  or 
oversight ;  Asbury  and  the  other  Preachers  found  it  dif&cult 
to  bring  them  into  line,  and  Strawbridge's  name  appears  and 
disappears  from  the  American  Stations  perplexingly.  Straw- 
bridge  assumed  the  right,  uncommissioned  by  any  ministry,  to 
give  the  Sacraments  to  his  isolated  flocks.  This  action  threatened 
to  bring  about  a  schism  ;  but  Asbury's  patient  and  conciliatory 
spirit  prevailed,  and  after  1784  the  chief  cause  of  contention 
was  removed  by  the  granting  of  authorised  Sacraments  to  the 
people  (see  pp.  17,  18). 

The  New  York  Society,  having  built  its  church,  applied  to 

♦  About  the  year  1770  the  Embury-Heck  families  removed  from 
New  York  to  Ashgrove,  a  new  settlement  on  Lake  Champlain  in  the 
same  State.  Here  they  became  the  centre  of  a  large  Methodist  Society. 
Here,  also,  Philip  Embury  finished  his  course,  in  1775.  The  outbreak 
of  the  war  compelled  the  company  to  a  third  migration,  and  we  shall 
meet  them  again  in  Canada  (p.  42). 


COLONIAL  PIONEERS  35 

Wesley  for  "  an  able  and  experienced  "  minister  ;  who  must  be 
"  a  man  of  wisdom,  of  sound  faith,  and  a  good  disciplinarian.'* 
Other  helpers  were  required  elsewhere.  If  the  passage-money  of 
the  needed  Preachers  could  not  otherwise  be  provided,  the 
Americans  are  prepared  "  to  sell  their  coats  and  shirts  "  !  In 
response  to  this  appeal,  at  Wesley's  instance,  Richard  Boardman 
and  Joseph  Pilmoor  were  sent  out  from  Leeds  in  1769 — the 
first  missionaries  appointed  by  the  Methodist  Conference  ;  the 
Preachers  raised  on  the  spot,  out  of  their  scanty  means,  the  sum 
of  ;^70  for  their  assistance.  Pilmoor  took  his  station  at  Phila- 
delphia, to  which  city  Methodism  had  been  extended  by  Captain 
Webb's  preaching,  and  Boardman  in  New  York,  exchanging 
between  the  two  centres.  Both  men  did  good  service,  until 
the  war  drove  them  home. 

By  this  time  Embury's  and  Strawbridge's  circles  of  Societies, 
in  north  and  south,  had  come  into  touch,  and  the  vast  extent 
of  the  whitening  fields  became  apparent.  From  the  Bristol 
Conference  of  1771,  on  a  further  appeal,  Wesley  despatched  two 
more  Preachers  to  America.  Of  this  second  couple,  one  was 
Francis  Asbury  (born  at  Hands  worth,  in  Staffordshire),  God's 
greatest  gift  to  American  Methodism — the  Apostle  of  the  West, 
and  the  architect,  under  Christ,  of  the  largest  ecclesiastical 
fabric  in  English-speaking  Christendom.  Asbury  was  a  man 
of  spare  but  enduring  physique,  of  gracious  and  attractive 
presence,  homely  and  gentle  manners,  and  a  tenderly  affection- 
ate disposition.  His  strong  practical  sense  was  sustained  by 
resolute  will  and  extraordinary  governing  ability.  The  scanty 
education  of  his  boyhood  had  been  improved  by  incessant 
diligence.  But  the  secret  of  his  power  lay  in  the  absolute 
devotion  to  God  which  made  him  ready  for  every  extreme  of 
self-denial  and  every  exigency  of  service.  Francis  Asbury  during 
the  forty-five  years  of  his  American  ministry  accomplished  a 
work  and  acquired  an  influence  comparable  to  that  of  John 
Wesley  himself.  By  the  time  of  his  death,  in  18 16,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  numbered  700  Travelling  Preachers,  most  of 
them  American-born,  and  about  218,000  Church-members. 
Forty  years  before,  at  the  date  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, the  membership  was  5,000. 

Asbury's  unique  position  was  due  to  the  fact  that  he  remained 
throughout  the  war  in  the  Colonies,  risking  both  liberty  and 
life  ;  he  stood  by  his  flock  while  the  rest  of  the  English  Preachers 
— some  of  them  indeed  under  compulsion — recrossed  the  Atlantic. 
At  first  he  had  to  live  and  work  in  concealment :    but  after  a 


36  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

while  the  authorities  of  the  States  recognised  his  political  harm- 
lessness,  and  it  was  possible  for  him,  though  threatened  and 
sometimes  maltreated,  to  resume  his  travelling  superintendency. 
Writing  thirty  years  later,  he  describes  this  period  as  "  the  most 
active,  the  most  useful,  and  most  effective  part  of  my  life,"  and 
adds  that  "  the  children  and  the  children's  children  of  those 
who  witnessed  my  labours  and  my  sufferings  in  the  day  of  peril, 
now  rise  up  by  hundreds  to  bless  me."  By  rendering  spiritual 
service  throughout  the  struggle  and  identifying  itself  with  the 
new  nation,  Methodism  gained  a  firm  hold  on  the  American 
people. 

The  prompt  action  of  Wesley  in  commissioning  Dr.  Coke, 
at  the  close  of  the  war,  to  organize  this  separated  Church  on  an 
independent  footing  {see  pp.  17,  18),  the  concord  of  Asbury  and 
Coke  in  the  matter,  and  the  excellent  temper  shown  by  all  con- 
cerned, brought  the  crisis  to  the  happiest  issue.  While  Coke 
assisted  as  a  visitor  in  the  business  of  the  Conferences,  Asbury, 
though  his  heart  3'earned  for  England,  had  thrown  in  his  lot  with 
the  Republic  ;  in  sympathies  and  outlook  he  had  become  an 
American,  and  was  for  many  years  the  sole  administrative  head 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  communion.  Dr.  James  Dixon  has 
justly  called  Asbury,  in  virtue  of  the  greatness  of  his  character 
and  the  outcome  of  his  labours,  "  the  second  man  in  Methodist 
history." 

One  could  have  wished  to  linger  on  the  names  of  the  men  who 
surrounded  Asbury  and  Coke  {comp.  p.  18)  at  the  epoch-making 
Baltimore  Conference  of  Christmas,  1784 — that  "  spiritual 
cavalry "  who  scoured  the  American  States  and  won  their 
people  for  Christ.  Richard  Whatcoat  was  there,  fresh  from 
England,  and  ordained  Elder  by  John  Wesley  before  he  sailed 
with  Dr.  Coke,  in  1800  to  be  raised  to  the  episcopate,  when  the 
infirmities  of  Asbury  compelled  the  appointment  of  a  third 
bishop.  "  Never,"  it  was  said  of  this  occasion,  "  were  holier 
hands  laid  upon  a  holier  head."  Freeborn  Garretson  was 
there — afterwards  lent  to  Nova  Scotia  (p.  40) — a  convert  of 
Asbury 's,  who  had  left  a  home  of  wealth  and  refinement  to 
espouse  a  lot  which  he  thus  describes,  in  writing  to  Wesley  : 
"  Once  I  was  imprisoned,  twice  beaten,  left  on  the  highway 
speechless  and  senseless  .  .  .  once  shot  at  .  .  .  once  delivered 
from  an  armed  mob  in  the  dead  of  night  by  a  surprising  flash 
of  lightning  .  .  .  stoned  frequently."  There,  too,  were  Joseph 
Everett,  "  the  roughest-spoken  Preacher  that  ever  stood  in  the 
Itinerant  ranks," — rude  in  speech  but  not  in  knowledge ;  and 


COLONIAL  PIONEERS  3^ 

John  Dickins,  Etonian  scholar  and  saint,  of  whom  Asbury  bears 
witness  that  "  for  piety,  probity,  profitable  preaching,  holy 
living  and  secret  prayer,  I  doubt  whether  his  superior  is  to  be 
found  in  Europe  or  America," — with  others  worthy  to  rank 
with  these.  From  the  life-stories  of  the  men  of  this  Baltimore 
Conference  a  companion  volume  to  The  Lives  of  the  Early 
Methodist  Preachers  might  be  compiled.  With  reluctance  we 
quit  such  company.  From  the  Conference  of  1784  the  Methodism 
of  the  United  States  went  on  its  own  brave  way. 

Newfoundland 

Newfoundland  projects  from  North  America  like  a  hand  out- 
reached  to  grasp  what  the  East  may  send.  After  the  discovery 
of  the  island  by  the  Cabots  in  1497,  English  traders  and  fisher- 
men soon  frequented  its  shores,  and  gradually  settled  along 
the  eastern  coast.  With  little  care  or  protection  from  Govern- 
ment, they  remained  for  two  centuries  a  lawless  and  often  god- 
less race  of  men.  But  two  clergymen  were  labouring  in  the 
island  when  the  first  Methodist  preacher  arrived  in  1765. 

This  was  Lawrence  Coughlan,  whose  coming  synchronized 
with  the  beginnings  of  Methodism  in  Maryland  and  New  York. 
Previously  serving  in  the  Irish  Itinerancy,  Coughlan  had  attracted 
Wesley's  notice.  He  withdrew,  however,  from  the  ministry  to  go 
abroad,  and  settled  at  Harbour  Grace,  on  Conception  Bay. 
Without  church  or  school,  the  people  of  this  district "  practised  un- 
checked every  crime  that  can  degrade  human  nature."  Coughlan 
could  not  be  silent ;  plainly  and  tenderly  he  bore  his  witness. 
In  a  few  months  he  returned  home,  reporting  his  experience  to 
Wesley,  on  whose  advice  he  joined  the  Society  for  the  Pro- 
pagation of  the  Gospel,  and  obtaining  ordination  returned  to 
Newfoundland  as  a  missionary  clergyman.  He  continued  in 
correspondence  with  Wesley,  and  remained  in  principle  a  Meth- 
odist. When,  after  some  years  of  patient  sowing,  the  harvest 
of  his  labours  began  to  appear,  Coughlan  gathered  his  converts 
into  Classes  on  the  Wesleyan  pattern  :  "  My  preaching  in  this 
land,"  he  writes  to  Wesley,  "  would  do  little  good,  were  it  not 
for  our  little  meetings."  The  severity  of  the  climate,  and  the 
relentless  opposition  that  Coughlan  encountered,  ruined  his 
health  ;  in  1773  he  returned  to  England  a  broken  man,  leaving 
behind  him  200  communicants,  all  awakened  under  his  ministry. 
We  shall  find  the  Newfoundland  Methodism  of  those  infant  days 
reacting  upon  Europe  (p.  128). 


38  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Before  Coughlan  left  Newfoundland,  there  arrived  John  Stret- 
ton,  a  Local  Preacher  from  Limerick,  who  settled  as  a  merchant 
not  far  from  Harbour  Grace.  With  the  help  of  Arthur  Thomey 
— another  Irish  trader,  converted  under  Coughlan — Stretton 
shepherded  the  Methodist  remnant  after  their  minister's  depar- 
ture. The  majority  of  Coughlan's  flock  gave  up  their  Methodist 
practices  through  intirhidation  ;  some  thirty  were  found  who 
asserted  their  liberty.  For  these  Stretton  and  Thomey  "  drew 
up  rules  "  (the  former  relates)  "  as  like  Wesley's  as  we  could, 
consistently  with  local  circumstances."  They  preached,  visited 
the  sick,  met  the  Classes,  and  extended  Coughlan's  Circuit.  So 
these  devoted  Irish  laymen  shielded  and  nourished  Christ's  little 
flock  in  desolate  Newfoundland. 

In  1774  a  third  helper  came  in  the  person  of  John  Hoskin  {or 
Hoskins),  a  Methodist  school-master  from  Bristol,  who  settled 
about  fifty  miles  from  the  earlier  labourers.  Hoskin  found  the 
fisher-folk  so  ignorant  of  religion  that  "  they  did  not  know  how 
to  behave  in  Divine  service — no,  not  to  kneel  in  prayer,  or  sing 
at  all  !  "  His  preaching  brought  about  a  revival  in  1778-79, 
followed  by  the  extension  of  Methodism  through  the  south-east 
of  the  island.  Persecution  grew  furious,  and  Hoskin  went  in 
daily  peril  of  his  life.  As  the  work  spread,  a  crying  need  arose 
for  superintendence  ;  the  lay  preachers  could  no  longer  meet  the 
calls  upon  them.  Stretton  wrote  to  Wesley  :  "  The  work  is  at 
a  stand  here,  and  superstition  and  profaneness  increasing  ;  we 
want  "  a  minister  "  given  wholly  to  the  work."  In  answer  to 
this  appeal,  John  M'Geary  was  sent  by  the  Conference  of  1785  ; 
but  he  was  scarcely  of  the  heroic  mould  which  Newfoundland 
demanded.  The  settlements  were  far  apart ;  roads,  bridges, 
horses,  alike  were  wanting.  Scrambling  over  rocks,  wading 
through  streams,  lashed  by  wind  and  rain  or  blinded  by  the 
snow,  the  Methodist  Preacher,  then  and  for  long  years  after- 
wards, traversed  on  foot  his  immense  Circuit,  "  nunny-bag  "  on 
back,  ministering  to  a  people  as  hardy  and  laborious  as  himself. 
To  the  hindrances  of  Nature  were  added,  in  the  earlier  years, 
unscrupulous  animosity  on  the  part  of  those  in  power.  In 
other  Colonies  friendly  relations  frequently  existed  between  the 
Methodists  and  Church  of  England  people  ;  in  Newfoundland 
the  case  was  sadly  opposite.  But  perseverance  in  well-doing  at 
last  wore  down  ofi&cial  prejudice,  while  the  hospitality  of  the 
fishermen  sweetened  the  weary  preacher's  toil. 

M'Geary  was  ready  to  sink  in  despair,  when  in  1791  William 
Black  of  Nova  Scotia  {see  pp.  39-41),  whom  Dr.  Coke  had  recently 


COLONIAL  PIONEERS  39 

appointed  Superintendent  of  the  work  in  the  Eastern  Provinces 
and  Newfoundland,  visited  the  island.  Black  brought  revival 
and  inspiration  wherever  he  moved  ;  in  six  weeks  he  settled  and 
organized  the  Newfoundland  Societies,  and  made  secure  for 
Methodism  the  ground  so  hardly  won.  M'Geary  retired  from 
the  field  in  1792  (the  Church-membership  by  this  time  numbered 
270)  ;  two  years  later  George  Smith  arrived  from  England  to 
fill  the  gap — a  strong  man,  "  of  the  John  Wesley  type."  From 
this  date  Newfoundland  had  a  fixed  place  on  the  Missionary 
Stations,  and  the  staff  of  Preachers  was  augmented  till  in  181 6 
it  numbered  11,  while  Methodism  gradually  spread  along  the 
eastern  coast. 

Other  causes  contributed  to  raise  the  condition  of  the  popula- 
tion ;  before  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  its  character 
was  transformed.  Between  the  years  1820  and  1830  Methodism 
grew  rapidly  ;  revivals  broke  out  at  intervals  along  the  coast, 
from  St.  John's  to  Bonavista.  The  next  decade  opened  with  a 
period  of  economic  distress  amounting  to  famine  :  the  fisheries 
failed,  and  blight  attacked  the  potatoes — up  to  that  time  the 
only  crop  raised  on  the  soil ;  and  disease  followed  in  the  track 
of  want.  But  the  tide  of  religious  revival  swelled  ;  despite  the 
ravages  of  death,  the  membership  rose  from  1830-32  by  more 
than  50  per  cent.  ;  in  1833  the  Church  numbered  close  upon 
2,000. 

Though  presenting  no  name  of  outstanding  eminence,  the 
Newfoundland  ministry  of  those  days  was  distinguished  by  its 
sturdy  strength  and  level  excellence,  while  the  people  were 
remarkable  for  their  energy,  simplicity,  and  warmth  of  attach- 
ment. In  the  years  1825-29  efforts  were  made  from  Newfound- 
land to  reach  the  heathen  Esquimaux,  but  they  proved  abortive. 

The  Newfoundland  District  was  the  first  foreign  contributor 
to  the  Missionary  Society,  forwarding  to  the  London  Mission 
House  in  181 7  a  sum  of  more  than  ^30. 

Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick 

At  the  Baltimore  Conference  of  1784  a  stranger  was  present 
hailing  from  Nova  Scotia,  William  Black  by  name.  He  was  a 
powerfully  built  Yorkshireman  of  twenty-four,  whose  family 
had  emigrated  with  a  Methodist  party  about  ten  years  earlier 
from  the  neighbourhood  of  Huddersfield.  William  Black,  the 
father,  was  a  friend  of  Wesley's,  who  on  hearing  of  his  intended 
removal,  deprecated  his  "  going  from  a  place  where  he  was  much 


40  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

wanted."  The  Methodist  fire  for  a  while  burned  low  in  the  little 
colony,  but  flamed  into  revival  in  1779,  when  the  younger  William, 
at  the  age  of  nineteen,  was  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  Christ. 
At  once  he  began  to  testify,  and  with  awakening  effect.  Aided 
by  a  few  like-minded  companions,  he  began  systematic  preaching, 
and  on  attaining  his  majority  devoted  himself  to  the  work  of  an 
evangelist.  His  travels  extended  over  a  thinly  settled  area  of 
50,000  square  miles.  Black  had  no  training  for  the  ministry,  no 
guide  but  the  Spirit  of  God.  Wesley's  Hymns  supplied  his 
Commentary  ;  by  their  help,  through  close  study  and  a  remark- 
ably sound  understanding,  he  drew  from  Scripture  an  effective 
theology.  When  books  reached  him,  he  knew  how  to  use  them  ; 
before  the  end  of  his  laborious  life  he  had  become  well-versed 
both  in  Divinity  and  Church  History. 

In  1783,  at  the  close  of  the  War  of  Independence,  came  the 
influx  of  the  "  United  Empire  Loyalists,"  whose  adherence  to 
the  British  flag  made  them  fugitives  from  the  States.  Nearly 
30,000  of  the  refugees  settled  in  the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia, 
most  of  whom  were  located  in  the  north-western  part  of  it,  known 
(from  1784)  as  New  Brunswick.  Among  the  newcomers  were  a 
sprinkling  of  Methodists,  whose  arrival  greatly  added  to  Black's 
responsibility,  but  brought  him  valuable  assistance.  The 
brothers  John  and  James  Mann,  with  Robert  Barry  (a  friend 
and  correspondent  of  Wesley's),  v/ere  enlisted  as  Preachers,  and 
count  amongst  the  fathers  of  Nova-Scotian  Methodism. 

More  than  once  Black  wrote  for  counsel  and  aid  to  John 
Wesley,  who  advised  him  of  Dr.  Coke's  first  visit  to  the  States. 
Black  travelled  to  meet  Coke  at  Baltimore,  and  laid  his  cause 
before  Wesley's  delegate  and  the  Conference.  He  secured  two 
American  Preachers,  forthwith  ordained  by  Coke  for  Nova 
Scotia,  one  of  whom  was  Freeborn  Garretson  {see  p.  36). 

The  preachers  lent  by  the  United  States  were  soon  withdrawn  ; 
the  two  designates  for  Nova  Scotia  who  sailed  with  Dr.  Coke 
from  England  in  autumn  1786,  were  driven  by  storm  to  the 
West  Indies,  and  there  detained  {see  p.  51).  Thus  Nova-Scotian 
Methodism,  now  numbering  500  in  Society,  again  found  itself 
without  an  ordained  minister.  So  it  remained,  with  a  brief 
interval,  until  Black,  accompanied  by  the  brothers  Mann,  re- 
paired once  more  to  the  Conference  of  the  M.  E.  Church  (1791). 
The  three  were  ordained  Elders  by  Coke  and  Asbury  ;  and  Black 
was  commissioned,  despite  his  youth,  as  "  Presiding  Elder  "  of 
Methodism  in  Nova  Scotia  and  Newfoundland.  His  first  care 
was  to  make  an  extensive  tour  {comp.  p   39),  administering  the 


COLONIAL  PIONEERS  41 

Sacraments  in  all  the  Societies.  From  Halifax  he  writes  :  "  How 
has  God  changed  the  scene  since  I  came  here  in  1 786  :  the  Society- 
is  now  eight  times  larger,   and  eight  times  more  spiritual  !  " 

Further  help  was  subsequently  sent  from  the  M.  E.  Church, 
whose  authority  extended  for  several  years  to  this  region.  But 
British  sentiment  was  strong  in  the  Colonies,  especially  after  the 
coming  of  the  Empire  Loyalists  {see  p.  42),  and  a  decided  prefer- 
ence was  expressed  for  ministers  from  England.  The  American 
Preachers  gradually  withdrew,  and  the  conflict  which  long  dis- 
tracted Canadian  Methodism  {see  pp.  44-46),  did  not  arise  here. 
In  1795  William  Black  figures  in  the  Stations  with  the  title  of 
"  General  Assistant,"  instead  of  "  Elder,"  or  "  Presiding  Elder," 
in  conformity  with  English  usage  ;  in  1807  the  chief  of  the 
District  is  designated  "  Chairman." 

If  Newfoundland  was  the  first  foreign  District  to  contribute 
in  money  to  the  Missionary  Society,  Nova  Scotia  (with  its  depen- 
dencies of  New  Brunswick  and  Prince  Edward  Isle)  had  the 
honour  of  instituting  the  first  Auxiliary  of  the  Society  outside 
of  Great  Britain.  In  the  year  181 7  more  than  ;£300  was  collected 
for  this  object  in  the  District — a  noble  first-fruit  of  filial  gratitude. 

Amongst  colonial  missionary  pioneers,  William  Black  takes 
high  rank  in  respect  of  his  native  ability  and  force  of  character, 
his  spiritual  ardour,  his  apostolic  labours  and  their  abiding  fruit- 
fulness.  The  father  of  the  Methodist  Church  of  Nova  Scotia  and 
New  Brunswick,  he  was,  in  the  worthiest  sense,  a  "  self-made  " 
missionary.  "  The  word  of  God  came  "  to  him,  as  to  John  in 
the  wilderness  and  to  the  Hebrew  prophets  ;  this  constituted 
his  original  commission  and  equipment.  Black's  prodigal  toil 
proved  too  great  even  for  his  stalwart  frame  ;  by  181 2  we  find 
him  a  Supernumerary,  at  the  age  of  fifty-two.  Twenty  years 
longer  he  lived  in  retirement  at  Halifax,  ministering  so  far  as 
strength  allowed,  an  honoured  adviser  to  his  brethren  and  an 
object  of  reverence  and  love  to  the  whole  community. 

Next  to  William  Black  in  the  Nova-Scotian  annals  ranks  Wil- 
liam Bennett,  his  successor  as  District  Chairman  and  a  man  of 
like  spirit  and  power.  Still  more  distinguished  was  Matthew 
Richey,  M.A.,  D.D.,  a  Donegal  Irishman,  the  scholar-preacher 
of  Nova  Scotia  and  the  biographer  of  William  Black  ;  he  did 
conspicuous  service  in  Canada  in  his  later  years  {seeip-p.  135,  138). 

The  "  Nova  Scotia  District  "  becomes  "  Nova  Scotia  and  New 
Brunswick  "  in  1791.  Until  18 15  it  included  the  "  Newfoundland 
Circuit " ;  Newfoundland  was  constituted  a  separate  District 
when  reporting  less  than  500  Church  members  ;  for  distance  and 


42  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

difl&culties  of  travel  cut  off  the  island  stations  from  the  mainland. 
New  Brunswick  attained  District  independence,  on  the  strength 
of  its  850  members,  in  1826,  Prince  Edward  Island  remaining 
with  Nova  Scotia. 

The  Canadas 

Lower  and  Upper  Canada — now  the  Provinces  of  Quebec  and 
Ontario  in  the  Canadian  Dominion — have  a  distinct  history. 
The  French  population  of  Lower  Canada  is  devotedly  Roman 
Catholic.  In  Upper  Canada — a  pervasively  British  region — our 
Church  has  long  held  a  leading  place. 

The  beginnings  of  Methodism  in  the  two  countries  were  simul- 
taneous. The  little  Palatine  colony,  including  Paul  and  Barbara 
Heck  and  Samuel  Embury  (Philip's  son),  crossed  over  during 
the  War  into  British  territory  {see  pp.  33,  34).  After  staying  some 
years  in  Montreal,  they  finally  settled  (1785)  in  the  township  of 
Augusta  in  Upper  Canada,  where  they  formed  a  Methodist  Society, 
in  which  Samuel  Embury  officiated  as  Class-leader  and  Local 
Preacher.  This  family  holds  the  honour  of  starting  Methodism 
both  in  New  England  and  in  Canada.  At  Augusta,  Barbara  Heck 
died,  in  1804  ;  her  body  lies  in  the  burying  ground  of  the  "  Old 
Blue  Church,"  where  her  monument  may  be  seen.  The  Loyalists 
who  crossed  the  border  in  large  numbers  during  and  after  the 
War,  furnished  the  nucleus  of  the  Upper  Canadian  and  New 
Brunswick  population  ;  they  contributed  much  to  the  early  growth 
of  Methodism  in  British  North  America  {comp.  p.  40). 

The  first  Methodist  Preacher  in  Quebec  was  a  British  com- 
missariat officer  of  the  name  of  Tuffey,  who  was  posted  in  that 
city  from  1780-84  ;  but  his  work  was  not  followed  up — not  till 
twenty  years  later  did  Methodism  take  root  in  Lower  Canada. 

In  the  Upper  Province  another  Methodist  soldier.  Major  George 
Neal — a  man  of  Irish-American  extraction,  who  had  enlisted  in 
British  service  and  afterwards  settled  on  the  Canadian  border 
near  to  Niagara — began  to  preach  to  his  irrehgious  neighbours. 
He  bore  patiently  much  persecution,  and  prepared  the  way  of  the 
regular  ministry  on  the  south  Ontarian  shores.  For  half  a  century, 
until  his  death  in  the  year  1840  at  the  age  of  ninety.  Major 
Neal's  house  was  a  focus  of  Methodism.  At  the  north-eastern 
corner  of  Lake  Ontario,  on  the  Bay  of  Quinte,  in  1788  a  Methodist 
schoolmaster  named  Lyons  began  to  testify  as  an  "  exhorter," 
with  notable  success.  In  Ernestown  near  to  Kingston,  about  the 
same  time,  one  James  M'Cart(h)y — an  Irish  immigrant,  converted 
in  the  States — ministered  to  a  group  of  Methodist  families.     After 


COLONIAL  PIONEERS  43 

two  or  three  years  of  public  work,  he  was  arrested  for  unlicensed 
preaching,  but  released  on  bail ;  whereupon  he  was  seized  by  a 
band  of  miscreants,  conveyed  down  the  river  by  night  and  made 
away  with. 

Proceeding  in  many  directions  from  the  various  centres  in- 
dicated, evangelical  influences  permeated  a  population  rapidly 
increasing,  but  destitute  of  religious  ordinances;  in  1785  "there 
were  but  three  or  four  Presbyterian  ministers  in  the  two  Canadas, 
and  perhaps  as  many  Anglican  clergy." 

The  M.E.  Church  of  the  States  learning  the  needs  of  Canada, 
during  the  'nineties  reached  out  a  helping  hand.  Among  the 
American  Preachers  lent  to  Canada  at  this  time  were  William 
Losee — a  pioneer  evangelist  and  founder  of  Circuits,  greatly 
endeared  to  the  people  ;  Darius  Dunham — lively  in  wit,  scathing 
in  reproof,  sober  in  counsel,  a  man  of  commanding  force  ;  Calvin 
Wooster,  a  revivalist  of  the  purest  type  ;  Nathan  Bangs — strong, 
cultured,  wise — who  gave  his  youthful  ministry  to  Canada,  and 
rose  to  eminence  later  in  his  own  Church.  The  intervention  of 
the  New  York  Conference*  at  this  juncture  was  most  timely. 
The  English  Methodists  were  in  no  position  then  to  send  Canada 
the  needed  help  ;  it  was  but  slowly  that  they  came  to  the  aid  of 
their  nearer  brethren  in  the  Eastern  Provinces.  The  troubles 
which  arose  later  between  the  British  and  American  Conferences 
on  this  ground,  should  not  efface  the  memory  of  the  devoted  men 
who  nursed  Canadian  Methodism  through  its  infancy ;  a  large  debt 
of  gratitude  is  owing  to  our  brethren  of  the  United  States  on  this 
account. 

In  1805  a  pair  of  notable  Preachers  from  the  States  joined  the 
Canadian  Itinerancy.  One  of  these  was  Henry  Ryan — an  Irish- 
man, tall,  athletic,  full  of  courage  and  impulsive  zeal,  whose 
temperament  during  his  closing  years  betrayed  him  into  unhappy 
strife,  ending  in  his  separation  from  the  Church  he  had  served  so 
well.  His  companion  was  William  Case,  of  American  birth — 
slight  in  build,  gentle,  sympathetic — who  for  over  forty  years 
was  a  trusted  and  beloved  Church-leader  of  Canadian  Methodism. 
These  recruits  introduced  the  American  Camp  Meeting — an 
innovation  justified  by  its  usefulness  in  the  backwoods  settle- 
ments. 

After  several  attempts  at  Quebec  and  Montreal,  Samuel  Coate 

♦  This  was  not  the  "  General  Conference  "  of  the  M.  E.  Church, 
which  meets  quadrennially  in  different  cities,  but  one  of  the  subordinate 
annual  Conferences  governing  the  several  areas  into  which  the  territory 
of  that  Church  is  divided. 


44  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

(1805-09),  a  preacher  of  singular  charm  and  fervour — succeeded 
in  planting  Methodism  in  the  latter  city.  From  this  time  it 
made  steady,  though  comparatively  slow,  progress  through  the 
Lower  Province  among  the  English-speaking  colonists  ;  a  chain 
of  Churches  was  established  reaching  from  Quebec  to  Ottawa. 

The  war  of  1812-14,  between  the  United  States  and  England, 
dislocated  our  work  in  Lower  Canada,  and  sharpened  national 
prejudice  throughout  the  country.  Nathan  Bangs,  who  had 
just  been  designated  to  Montreal  as  Presiding  Elder  for  Lower 
Canada,  was  reclaimed  by  the  States.  Canadian  preachers  were 
pressed  into  service  after  the  war  ;  amongst  these  was  Thomas 
Harmon,  an  ex-soldier,  who,  it  was  said,  "  prayed  like  a  saint 
and  fought  like  a  devil  !  "  That  the  war  did  not  prove  disastrous 
to  Methodism,  was  largely  due  to  the  vigilant  care  and  executive 
ability  of  Henry  Ryan,  then  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Upper  Dis- 
trict. In  1815  William  Case  was  set  to  preside  over  the  Upper 
District,  and  Ryan  transferred  to  the  Lower.  Skilfully  they 
repaired  the  rents  which  war  had  made. 

Until  1822  no  definite  attempts  had  been  made  by  the  Metho- 
dists of  Canada  to  reach  the  aborigines,  who  were  regarded  as 
irreclaimably  savage  and  hardly  human.  In  that  year  a  number 
of  Red  Men,  who  had  unobserved  crept  for  warmth  into  the 
room  where  a  Methodist  prayer-meeting  was  being  held,  were 
strangely  converted  ;  this  led  to  the  evangelization  of  their 
tribe,  settled  near  the  Bay  of  Quinte.  There  was  then  living 
about  fifty  miles  west  of  Hamilton  a  certain  Welshman,  Augustus 
Jones  by  name,  holding  the  office  of  Provincial  Surveyor,  who 
had  married  an  Indian  wife.  Their  three  children,  Peter,  Mary, 
and  John,  were  brought  to  God  under  Methodist  preaching  and 
proved  to  be  "  chosen  vessels  "  for  His  service.  Acquainted 
with  the  native  tongue,  the  sons  began  to  preach  to  their  mother's 
people,  and  did  so  with  astonishing  success.  Peter  Jones  was 
taken  into  the  ministry,  and  laboured  long  and  fruitfully  amongst 
the  Indians.  Case,  the  Presiding  Elder  of  the  District,  furthered 
the  work  thus  commenced  with  all  his  might ;  in  1828  he  was 
set  apart  as  Superintendent  of  Indian  Missions  ;  by  the  year 
1829  he  reported  2,000  conversions.  William  Case's  name  will 
ever  be  fragrant  for  his  devotion  to  the  salvation  of  the  Red 
Indian  people. 

The  resentment  left  behind  by  the  war,  and  the  constant 
influx  of  immigrants  from  the  Old  Country,  stimulated  the 
preference  of  the  colonists  for  British  ministrations,  although 
this  feeling  was  qualified  in  Upper  Canada  by  regard  for  the 


COLONIAL  PIONEERS  45 

devoted  ministers  whom  the  M.  E.  Church  had  sent  to  Canada's 
help  in  her  necessity.  It  was  from  Montreal  that  in  181 4,  when 
the  Methodist  pulpit  was  emptied  by  the  war,  the  first  applica- 
tion came  from  Canada  to  the  London  Mission  House,  which  sent 
John  B.  Strong  and  Richard  Williams — the  latter  from  Nova 
Scotia — to  occupy  this  city  and  Quebec.  Elder  Ryan,  returning 
after  the  close  of  the  struggle  (1815),  resented  the  intrusion. 
The  coming  of  the  English  Preachers  was  to  the  American  breth- 
ren a  surprise  and  an  embarrassment.  There  was  abundant 
room  for  both  parties,  and  the  reinforcements  were  undoubtedly 
in  request  by  the  people  ;  but  competition  had  not  been  avoided. 
The  British  authorities,  probably  assuming  the  retirement  of 
the  Americans  to  be  permanent,  appear  not  to  have  apprised  the 
latter  of  their  action  nor  sought  an  understanding  with  them. 
This  led  to  unseemly  strife.  In  1820,  however,  a  partition  was 
arranged  :  Lower  Canada  was  handed  over  to  England,  America 
retaining  the  Upper  Province  ;  but  "  the  arrangement  gave  no 
satisfaction  to  those  whom  it  most  concerned." 

The  growing  Church  of  Upper  Canada  becoming  restive  under 
the  government  of  the  Genesee  (American)  Conference,*  was 
allowed  in  1824  to  form  a  Conference  of  its  own,  within  the 
M.  E.  Church.  In  1828  the  Province  declared  itself  indepen- 
dent, and  assumed  the  title  of  "  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Canada,"  making  William  Case  its  "  President."  Since  1820 
Lower  Canada  had  been  administered  as  a  Missionary  District 
under  the  British  Conference. 

The  Missionary  Committee  in  London,  alive  to  the  importance 
of  Canada,  was  closely  watching  the  course  of  events.  Regard- 
ing the  territorial  agreement  of  1820  as  terminated  by  the  separa- 
tion of  Upper  Canada  from  the  M.  E.  Church  of  the  States, 
in  1832  it  sent  new  missionaries  to  that  Province.  Fresh  com- 
plications thus  arose  ;  but  the  discussion  of  the  matter  took  an 
amicable  turn  and  led  to  a  proposal  of  alliance  with  the  Home 
Conference  on  the  part  of  Canada,  whose  overtures  were  readily 
accepted.  The  union  was  consummated  in  1833,  when  George 
Marsden  was  sent  from  England  to  preside  over  the  Conference 
of  "  The  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  of  Upper  Canada,"  which 

*  The  Canadian  Districts  were  originally  attached  to  the  New  York 
Conference  {see  p.  43).  But  in  18 10,  when  that  Conference  was  divided, 
the  western  half  taking  the  name  of  "  Genesee,"  Upper  Canada  (divided 
now  into  Eastern  and  Western  Districts)  was  assigned  to  the  latter, 
while  the  Lower  Canada  District  remained  a  part  of  the  New  York 
Conference,  until  it  was  surrendered  to  the  British  Conference  in  1820. 


46  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

dropped  the  adjective  "  Episcopal."  In  the  same  year  Joseph 
Stinson  began  his  eminent  career  as  Superintendent  of  Missions, 
succeeding  to  the  venerable  William  Case.  The  stricter  British 
discipline  excited  discontent  in  some  quarters  ;  but,  on  the  whole, 
the  union  was  effected  with  surprising  ease.  Through  all  these 
contentions  and  administrative  changes  the  Methodism  of  Upper 
Canada  continued  to  thrive  ;  in  1833  i't  numbered  over  16,000 
Church-members.  Other  conflicts  awaited  this  much-tried 
Church  ;   the  story  will  be  resumed  in  Chapter  XI. 

Australia 

Captain  Cook's  voyages  (1770)  first  brought  Australia — then 
known  as  "  New  Holland  " — to  the  knowledge  of  Englishmen. 
The  British  flag  was  hoisted  at  Botany  Bay  on  January  20th, 
1788,  by  Governor  Phillip,  who  forestalled  the  French  by  six 
days  !  Phillip  brought  with  him  several  ship-loads  of  convicts 
— ^the  first  colonists  of  this  great  country.  Since  the  War  of 
Independence  the  American  shores  had  been  closed  to  such 
importations  ;  and  Botany  Bay  was  selected  as  the  dumping- 
ground  for  Britain's  human  refuse. 

At  the  instance  of  William  Wilberforce,  the  New  South  Wales 
settlement  was  furnished  with  clergy ;  and  in  1800  Samuel 
Marsden  became  the  Senior  Chaplain.  He  was  of  Methodist 
antecedents — "  a  little,  merry,  bustling  clergyman,"  who  was 
earnestly  concerned  for  the  welfare  of  his  '  black  sheep.'  In 
answer  to  his  request  for  a  schoolmaster  to  teach  the  convicts' 
children,  Thomas  Bowden  was  appointed,  recently  master  of 
the  Charity  School  of  Great  Queen  Street,  London,  and  a  Metho- 
dist Class-leader.  Six  months  after  his  arrival  Bowden  reports 
three  Classes  meeting  regularly  (July  181 2),  two  in  Sydney  and 
one  at  Windsor,  thirty-four  miles  distant.  In  181 4  Bowden  and 
his  fellow-leader  write  to  the  Conference  for  a  minister — who, 
they  say,  will  be  well  received  by  the  Governor  and  Chaplains, 
provided  he  is  not  antagonistic  to  "  the  Church  "  ;  they  propose 
to  invest  money  in  cattle  for  his  maintenance.  Samuel  Leigh 
received  the  appointment,  a  Preacher  of  Staffordshire  birth,  with 
a  record  for  enthusiastic  zeal. 

Leigh  reached  Sydney  in  August,  1815,  and  was  heartily  wel- 
comed. He  writes  :  "  There  is  every  encouragement  we  can 
expect  from  the  state  of  the  Colony.  The  people  are  very  hos- 
pitable." It  was  now  twenty-seven  years  since  British  rule  had 
been  established  ;  other  colonists  beside  the  transported  criminals 


COLONIAL  PIONEERS  47 

had  entered  the  country,  and  many  of  these  latter  had  become 
respectable  citizens.  The  country  began  to  be  peopled  and  cul- 
tivated. Leigh  formed  a  Circuit  extending  for  150  miles,  with 
fifteen  preaching-places,  which  he  travelled  on  horseback  in  a 
three  weeks'  round.  In  social  work  and  care  for  the  poor  Leigh 
was  eminently  useful,  laying  the  foundations  of  organized  charity 
in  Sydney.  Amongst  his  best  friends  was  John  Lees,  a  retired 
soldier  occupying  a  lonely  inland  farm,  who  greeted  him  with  the 
exclamation,  "  We  have  been  praying  for  a  missionary  for  three 
years  !  "  By  the  autumn  of  181 7  Lees  had  built,  at  the  neigh- 
bouring town  of  Castlereagh,  the  first  Methodist  Chapel  erected 
in  Australasia, — a  plain  weatherboard  structure,  but  suited  to  the 
wants  of  the  people.  Eighteen  months  later  a  second  chapel — 
this  time  of  stone — was  opened  in  Sydney,  the  gift  of  another 
liberal-hearted  soldier.  Sergeant  James  Scott. 

A  year  or  so  after  this  Leigh  was  joined  by  Walter  La  wry,  a 
young  Cornishman,  of  whom  more  hereafter  {see  pp.  100, 149) .  His 
coming  gave  Leigh  the  opportunity  to  visit  New  Zealand  and 
make  acquaintance  with  the  Maoris.  Before  long  Leigh's  health 
compelled  a  return  to  England,  where  he  produced  a  deep  im- 
pression by  his  appeals  for  the  South  Sea  Islanders.  He  proposed 
himself  to  go  to  New  Zealand.  At  the  same  time  he  pleaded  for 
missions  to  the  convicts  in  Tasmania  (then  known  as  Van 
Diemen's  Land),  and  to  the  aborigines.  His  requests  were 
granted:  Leigh  was  appointed  to  New  Zealand  in  1820,  Lawry 
to  the  Friendly  Islands,  and  three  new  men  were  allotted  to 
the  Colonies. 

At  Hobart  Town  (Van  Diemen's  Land)  Corporal  George  Waddy, 
Local  Preacher  and  Class-leader,  had  already  broken  ground  for 
Methodism,  braving  riotous  opposition.  Removed  to  Macquarie 
Harbour,  the  penal  station  for  incorrigible  convicts — a  veritable 
"  hell  upon  earth  " — Waddy  gathered  a  Class-meeting  about 
him,  and  opened  the  door  for  the  missionary's  coming.  In  all 
quarters  of  the  world  at  this  time  Methodist  soldiers  were  the 
forerunners  of  their  Church. 

Benjamin  Carvosso  had  been  the  first  to  preach  in  Van  Diemen's 
Land  (April,  1820) ;  he  spent  the  latter  half  of  his  ten  years  of 
missionary  service  on  this  island,  where  his  labours  were  greatly 
blessed.  Carvosso's  name  stands  beside  those  of  Leigh  and 
Lawry  amongst  the  fathers  of  Australian  Methodism. 

On  the  whole,  however,  for  the  first  twenty  years  the  Austra- 
lian Mission  was  disappointing.  In  1833  there  were  but  iii 
Church-members  on  the  mainland,  and   157  in  Tasmania.     It 


48  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

was  a  time  of  wintry  sowing,  under  a  dull  sky.  The  following 
twenty  years  brought  the  ingathering.  The  missionary  staff, 
during  the  previous  period,  was  severely  handicapped.  Leigh 
removed  to  New  Zealand  in  1822  ;  Lawry,  a  little  later,  com- 
menced his  work  in  the  Friendly  Islands.  Leigh's  strength, 
already  impaired,  was  broken  by  the  hardships  of  his  Maori 
sojourn  ;  he  resumed  his  labour  in  the  Colony  so  far  as  health 
permitted,  but  in  1831  he  returned  finally  to  England.  Some 
of  the  newer  appointments  to  this  field  did  not  prove  happy  ; 
censures  and  resignations  followed.  The  best  men  were  bur- 
dened by  the  excessive  cost  of  living  in  the  Colony,  for  which 
the  Home  authorities  scarcely  made  sufficient  allowance.  A 
controversy  arose  about  the  holding  of  Methodist  services  within 
Church  hours,  in  which  Leigh,  whose  conservative  feeling  on  the 
subject  was  strengthened  by  his  friendly  intercourse  with  the 
clergy,  though  supported  by  the  Committee  in  England,  was  at 
issue  with  his  colleagues.  The  relations  between  the  local  staff 
and  the  Mission  House  were  seriously  strained,  to  the  hindrance 
of  the  work  of  God. 

The  Mission  to  the  Aborigines — an  undertaking  of  enormous 
difficulty — was  never  properly  equipped,  and  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  carried  on  with  the  necessary  method  and  perseverance. 
The  experiment  made  in  New  South  Wales  was  abandoned,  after 
a  few  years  of  hardly  sufficient  trial  [comp.  pp.  95,  143,  145). 


CHAPTER  V 

The  West  Indies  :  Emancipation,  and  After 

In  the  West  Indies  Methodism  first  sought  the  salvation  of  the 
heathen.  The  spiritual  condition  of  the  negroes  in  these  islands 
had  been  little  improved  by  contact  with  nominally  Christian 
masters  ;  indeed,  slavery  and  European  vice  had  degraded  them 
morally  below  the  level  of  their  fetish-worshipping  African  kin- 
dred. The  Established  clergy  were  few  in  number,  and  often 
careless  of  their  black  parishioners.  Notwithstanding,  rudimen- 
tary Christian  facts  and  ideas  had  by  this  time  filtered  into  the 
mind  of  the  West  Indian  negro,  producing  a  certain  preparation 
for  the  Gospel.     The  Moravians  preceded  Methodism,  and  had 


WEST  INDIES  :  EMANCIPATION  AND  AFTER     49 

laboured  on  several  of  the  islands  with  wonderful  success,  creating 
widespread  expectations  of  coming  good. 

As  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  approached,  the  agitation 
in  England  against  slavery,  which  resulted  in  the  abolition  of  the 
slave-trade  in  1807  and  in  the  Act  of  Emancipation  of  1833, 
excited  a  general  sympathy  for  efforts  to  relieve  the  misery  of  the 
West  Indian  negroes,  to  whom  as  victims  of  British  cupidity  it 
was  felt  that  a  great  reparation  was  owing.  The  time  was  ripe  for 
missionary  action.  In  no  other  region  has  our  work  been  so 
complicated  with  social  and  civil  difl&culties  ;  in  none  have  Metho- 
dist missionaries  undergone  so  many  sufferings,  from  the  combined 
effects  of  climate  and  persecution.  Nowhere  has  our  foreign 
field  presented  a  more  moving  scene  of  adventure  and  vicissitude, 
of  pathos  and  romance.  We  must  compress  into  a  chapter  a 
story  which  demands  an  ample  volume. 

Here,  as  in  other  Colonies,  the  lay  pioneer  preceded  the  author- 
ised missionary.  In  1758  John  Wesley  preached  at  Wandsworth 
in  the  house  of  a  certain  Nathaniel  Gilbert,  a  planter  of  Antigua,* 
and  later  Speaker  of  the  Island  House  of  Assembly,  who  had 
visited  England  seeking  his  acquaintance.  This  gentleman 
brought  with  him  two  negro  servants,  whom  Wesley  on  that 
occasion  baptized  ;  the  latter  refers  to  one  of  these  as  "  the  first 
African  Christian  I  have  known.  But  shall  not  our  Lord," 
he  asks,  "  in  due  time  have  these  heathen  also  for  His  inheri- 
tance ?  "  Gilbert  returned  home  in  1 760  charged  with  evangelical 
zeal,  and  commenced  preaching  Christ  to  the  slaves  upon  hia 
own  and  the  neighbouring  estates.  Before  his  death  (in  1774)  ho 
had  raised  up  a  Methodist  Society,  of  white  and  coloured  people, 
including  200  souls.  Nathaniel  was  assisted  by  his  brother 
Francis,  who  writes  to  Wesley  in  1773  :  "So  great  is  our  success, 
that  at  present  almost  the  whole  island  seems  stirred  up  to  seek 
the  Lord."  After  his  brother  died,  Francis  appears  to  have 
left  the  country  ;  Baxter  on  his  arrival  in  1778  found  the  Metho- 
dist flock  unshepherded.  The  Society  had  been  held  together  in 
some  fashion  by  slave-women,  who  conducted  the  Classes  and 
prayer-meetings  and  acted  as  "  exhorters  "  among  the  coloured 
people. 

John  Baxter — a  Chatham  shipwright  and  a  Methodist  Local 
Preacher — accepted  a  Government  appointment  to  Antigua 
with  the  hope  of  serving  the   Gospel.     He  was  an  energetic, 

*  Antigua  is  situated  near  the  centre  of  the  Leeward  group  of  the 
West  Indian  Islands.  Its  population  at  that  time  was  about  40,000, 
3,000  of  whom  were  British,  and  the  rest  coloured  people,  mostly  slaves. 

D 


50  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

sensible,  and  devoted  man  ;  his  coming  proved  most  timely. 
After  a  year's  labour,  he  reports  the  negroes  to  Wesley  as  "  ripe 
for  the  Gospel  :  600  have  joined  the  Society;  .  .  .  many  come 
seven  or  ten  miles  bare-foot  to  meet  their  Classes."  In  1782  he 
writes  again,  showing  that  he  possessed  caution  as  well  as  en- 
thusiasm :  "  We  are  much  in  want  of  Leaders.  .  .  .  Being 
ignorant  of  the  word  of  God,  the  negroes  run  into  many  super- 
stitions. .  .  .  The  work  cannot  be  said  to  be  deep  in  any,  but 
it  is  visible  in  multitudes.  There  is  a  great  outward  reformation 
among  them,  and  a  desire  to  be  thought  religious."  Concerning 
himself  he  adds  :  "I  find  it  hard  to  flesh  and  blood  to  work  all 
day,  and  then  ride  ten  miles  at  night  to  preach."  In  the  course 
of  the  next  year  Baxter  built  a  large  chapel  for  his  congregation 
in  St.  John,  the  capital  of  the  island  ;  and  Coke  found  there  a 
Society  of  1,800  memb'^rs.* 

The  landing  of  Dr.  Coke  in  Antigua,  on  Christmas-day,  1786, 
crowned  the  course  of  providences  above  related.  Coke  had 
sailed  in  the  previous  autumn  upon  his  second  voyage  to  America 
[see  p.  19),  in  a  vessel  bound  for  Halifax  (N.  S.).  Three 
young  Preachers  accompanied  him — WilHam  Hammet(t),  John 
Clarke,  and  William  Warrener  ;  the  two  former  he  was  instructed 
to  leave  in  Nova  Scotia,  while  the  third  (sent  in  answer  to  Baxter's 
appeal)  was  to  be  forwarded  to  Antigua.  A  succession  of  fierce 
gales  crippled  the  ship,  and  drove  her  from  her  course  to  the 
very  spot  in  the  western  seas  where  the  Methodist  voyagers  were 
most  needed  at  this  moment.  Dr.  Coke's  coming  was  joyfully 
hailed  by  all  classes  of  the  population. 

The  Mission  had  a  course  of  almost  unbroken  prosperity  in 
this  island  for  fifty  years  onwards,  overshadowed  by  one  tragic 
calamity, — the  loss  of  its  entire  staff  through  the  wreck  of  the 
Maria  mailboat  in  the  year  1826.  Within  a  generation  Methodism 
became  practically  the  "  EstabHshed  Church."  The  labours 
of  the  Gilberts  and  Baxter  at  the  beginning  had  overcome  per- 
secution and  earned  the  respect  of  the  white  people,  a  com- 
paratively large  number  of  whom  assisted  in  the  Society  ;  "  the 
Gilberts  were  followed  by  a  succession  of  worthies  of  which  any 
Church  might  be  proud."  The  happy  effect  of  Christian  teaching 
on  the  slaves  became  early  manifest,  and  missionary  schools 
were  liberally  aided  by  the  proprietors.  Good  feeling  between 
the  races  was  here  unusually  prevalent.     So  well  had  the  negroes 

♦  The  Moravians,  according  to  Coke's  report,  had  at  this  time  a 
Society  in  Antigua  of  similar  size.  The  adherents  of  the  two  com- 
munions included  nearly  a  third  of  the  people. 


WEST  INDIES  :  EMANCIPATION  AND  AFTER      51 

been  prepared  for  liberty,  that  the  Antiguan  Legislature  at  the 
Emancipation  of  1833-34  petitioned  for  the  cutting  short  of 
their  apprenticeship,  confessing  that  it  "  cannot  discover  any- 
sufficient  reason  referrible  to  this  island,"  against  "  an  unre- 
stricted Emancipation,"  in  view  of  "  the  state  of  religious  and 
social  improvement  to  which  "  the  slaves  "  of  Antigua  have 
already  reached."  Could  there  be  desired  for  missionary  work 
at  the  end  of  two  generations,  a  better  certificate  ?  By  the 
year  1833  there  were  close  upon  3,000  Methodist  Church-members 
in  Antigua — a  sixth  of  them  English  people. 

Leaving  Warrener  in  charge  at  Antigua,  Dr.  Coke  and  his 
remaining  companions  set  out  on  a  month's  voyage  of  explora- 
tion, in  which  he  visited  successively  Dominica  (in  the  south 
Leeward  Isles),  St.  Vincent  (in  the  Windwards),  St.  Kitt's  {or 
Christopher's  ;  amongst  the  Leewards,  W.  by  N.  of  Antigua), 
Nevis  and  St.  Eustatius  (both  adjacent  to  St.  Kitt's).  In  St. 
Vincent  and  St.  Kitt's  open  doors  for  the  Gospel  were  found  ; 
and  Clarke  and  Hammett  were  planted  there  as  missionaries, 
Nova  Scotia  being  thus  robbed  {see  pp.  19,  40)  to  do  the  West 
Indies  service.  The  welcomers  of  Coke  in  both  islands  owed 
their  conversion,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  Gilbert's  preaching  in 
Antigua.  In  February  1787  Dr.  Coke  sailed  from  St.  Eustatius 
for  Charleston  in  S.  Carolina,  to  discharge  his  errand  to  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  seven  weeks  he  had  personally 
set  on  foot  the  evangelization  of  half  a  dozen  West  Indian  islands. 

St.  Vincent — that  "  romantic  and  lovely  isle,  with  its  simple- 
hearted,  loving  people  " — has  borne  out  its  early  promise. 
Clarke's  ministry  was  so  successful  that  Baxter,  who  had  given 
up  his  carpentry  for  the  Gospel,  came  over  from  Antigua  to 
assist  him.  Dr.  Coke  found  Baxter  here  on  his  second  tour 
in  1788,  and  persuaded  him  to  attempt  the  evangelization  of  the 
remnant  of  the  Caribbean  aborigines,  then  living  in  savagery 
in  the  south-west  of  the  island.  Baxter  and  his  wife  settled 
amongst  the  Caribs,  and  learnt  their  language  ;  but  after  two 
years  he  abandoned  as  hopeless  a  task  for  which,  probably,  he 
was  but  ill-furnished.  This  unhappy  people  rose  in  repeated 
rebellion  ;  the  bulk  of  them  had  been  already  deported  to  the 
Honduras  mainland  {see  p.  58). 

The  St.  Vincent  planters,  not  being  prepossessed  in  the 
missionaries'  favour  like  those  of  Antigua,  took  alarm  at  the 
conversion  of  the  negroes.  Here  persecution  began,  in  1791-93. 
Robert  Gamble  and  Matthew  Lumb,  who  came  out  with^Coke 
on  his  second  visit  (1788-89)  and  whom  he  stationed  in  this 


52  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

island,  were  the  sufferers.  The  former  was  waylaid  by  a  band 
of  white  ruffians  and  so  cruelly  beaten  that  in  a  few  days  he 
expired  (1791) — the  first  on  Methodism's  roll  of  missionary 
martyrs.  His  companion  was  thrown  into  prison,  under  a 
statute  passed  by  the  St.  Vincent  Legislature  to  suppress  sectarian 
preaching,  which  was  disallowed  by  the  King's  Government  in 
1793,  upon  Dr.  Coke's  representations.  Meanwhile  Lumb 
remained  in  gaol,  and  was  shamefully  used.  He  survived,  to  do 
good  service  for  many  years  abroad  and  at  home.  The  work 
of  God  went  forward  in  St.  Vincent,  in  spite  of  the  slave-owners  ; 
before  long  the  Society  numbered  2,500  members,  nearly  all 
coloured  people. 

The  causes  of  the  West  Indian  hostility  to  the  Mission  appear 
in  the  "  recommendation  "  drawn  up  by  the  St.  Vincent  Council 
in  1 81 6,  which  ran  thus  :  "  Dissenting  preachers,  of  every 
denomination,  should  in  future  not  be  allowed  to  preach  .  .  . 
until  they  had  entered  into  securities,  themselves  in  ;^4oo  and 
two  freeholders  in  the  like  sum  each,  that  no  doctrines  or  opinions 
shall  be  inculcated  or  circulated  by  them  unfriendly  to  the 
system  of  government,  or  inconsistent  with  the  duties  slaves 
owe  to  their  masters  ;  and  that  every  such  preacher  shall  farther 
take  a  solemn  oath  .  .  .  deposing  he  has  no  connexion,  and  holds 
nor  will  hold,  any  correspondence  .  .  .  with  any  self-created 
society,  or  any  other  unauthorised  set  of  men  in  England,  who 
either  directly  or  indirectly  have  or  shall  attempt  to  interfere 
in  the  relations  between  master  and  slave  in  these  colonies." 
The  proprietors  regarded  "  dissenting  preachers  "  as  secret  agents 
of  the  Liberationists  in  England,  and  suspected  them  of  im- 
buing the  slaves,  under  cover  of  religion,  with  principles  sub- 
versive of  the  established  order. 

The  St.  Vincent  Mission,  however,  lived  down  governmental 
prejudice.  In  18 19  St.  Vincent  became  the  head  of  a  separate 
Missionary  District,  including  the  Windward  Islands  along  with 
Demerara.  The  Emancipation,  not  completed  here  until  1838, 
was  attended  with  spiritual  blessing  :  "  the  population  generally  " 
was  "  impressed  with  the  idea  that  being  now  free,  they  were  in 
duty  bound  to  serve  the  Lord.  ...  A  genuine  revival  of  religion 
was  experienced  among  all  classes."  At  this  date  the  two  St. 
Vincent  Circuits  had  reached  a  membership  considerably  above 
8,000. 

St.  Kitt's  and  Nevis  are  small  and  closely  adjacent  islands 
amongst  the  Leewards.  Methodism  ran  a  similar  course  in  each. 
In  both  at  the  outset  the  Mission  secured  allies  amongst  the 


WEST  INDIES  :  EMANCIPATION  AND  AFTER     53 

planters — the  cousins  Nesbitt  were  the  "  Gilberts  "  of  Nevis — 
and  the  clergy  were  comparatively  friendly.  Of  St.  Kitt's  Coke 
said,  at  his  last  visit  in  1793,  "  We  took  leave  of  this  happy 
island,  in  which  genuine  religion  flourishes  like  an  olive-tree  in 
the  house  of  God  "  ;  on  the  whole,  his  description  held  good  for 
later  years.  Nevis  underwent  greater  vicissitudes — amongst 
these  a  violent  persecution  about  the  end  of  the  century,  and 
a  French  occupation  in  1805 — both  events  interrupting  Methodist 
work.  In  1833  our  people  numbered  3,000  in  St.  Kitt's  and 
over  800  in  Nevis,  of  whom  three-fourths  were  slaves. 

At  Dominica — a  large  southern  Leeward  island — Coke  touched 
twice  on  his  first  West  Indian  round  {see  p.  51),  preaching  and 
making  personal  friends.  The  island  was  occupied  in  1788  by 
William  M'Cornock,  another  eager  Irish  volunteer  ("  the  sword 
was  too  keen  for  the  scabbard,"  says  Coke),  who  fell  in  a  few 
months  a  victim  to  the  unwholesome  climate — the  first  Wesleyan 
missionary  to  die  on  the  West  Indian  field.  "  A  mulatto  gentle- 
woman," Mrs.  Webley,  formerly  resident  in  Antigua,  was  Dr. 
Coke's  hostess  and  a  chief  helper  of  Methodism  here  ;  Dominica 
was  distinguished  by  its  large  number  of  educated  and  well-to-do 
coloured  people.  M'Cornock's  vacant  place  was  not  filled  until 
1794.  The  melancholy  story  of  a  young  missionary  snatched 
away  by  death  and  leaving  his  flock  untended  was  again  and 
again  repeated  in  Dominica.  The  French  invasion  of  1805, 
and  in  later  years  hurricane  and  earthquake,  made  havoc  of  the 
island.  A  powerful  Roman  Catholicism  added  to  the  difiiculties 
with  which  the  mission  had  to  contend.  But  the  ground  was 
never  abandoned.  St.  Rupert's,  the  unhealthiest  spot  in  the 
island,  witnessed  glorious  scenes  of  revival. 

Dominica  enjoyed  the  labours  of  some  of  our  most  distin- 
guished men,  amongst  whom  was  the  late  revered  John  Burton 
(1826-27),  who  writes  at  this  time  :  "  The  mind  hangs  con- 
founded between  astonishment  and  gratitude  while  attempting 
to  estimate  the  moral  effects  which  have  been  manifested  .  .  . 
in  this  part  of  Dominica.  The  liar  speaks  the  truth  to  his 
neighbour  ;  the  swearer  has  stilled  his  cursing  tongue  ;  the 
adulterer  has  ceased  to  frequent  the  filthy  haunts  of  his  mid- 
night crime.  Obeahism  [the  West  Indian  form  of  African  super- 
stition], by  which  many  were  in  bondage  to  the  most  frightful 
and  ghastly  apprehensions,  has  been  subverted  by  truth  ;  its 
hold  on  the  imagination  has  been  destroyed,  its  existence  as  a 
demon-charm  annihilated, — in  many  instances  its  very  name  is 
now  only  accompanied  with  disgust  and  hate."     These  words 


54  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

powerfully  describe  the  success  which  the  missionaries  achieved 
amongst  the  debased  West  Indian  negroes,  on  the  strength  of 
which  our  Mission  swiftly  advanced  throughout  the  archipelago 
in  face  of  an  insidiously  dangerous  climate,  and  of  human  oppo- 
sition in  many  quarters  only  less  relentless.  In  the  Emancipation 
year  Dominica  reported  a  membership  of  nearly  a  thousand — 
one-third  of  them  free  people. 

St.  Eustatius,  situated  amongst  the  Leewards  near  St.  Kitt's — 
a  tiny  island,  important  from  its  trade  and  great  fertility — had 
frequently  changed  hands,  but  belonged  then  as  now  to  Holland. 
This  was  the  last  island  that  Coke  visited  on  his  first  voyage. 
He  was  invited  by  a  company  of  negroes  who  had  been  gathered 
into  Society  by  Black  Harry,  a  slave  converted  in  the  United 
States  and  afterwards  sold  into  St.  Eustatius,  who  deserves  to 
rank  amongst  the  heroes  of  early  Methodism.  Finding  his 
fellow  countrymen  in  an  abandoned  condition.  Black  Harry  had 
preached  to  them,  with  awakening  effect.  The  Dutch  Governor 
at  first  approved  his  work,  but  took  alarm  at  the  excitement 
attending  it,  and  resolved  on  its  suppression.  Harry  was  not 
silenced  by  flogging,  and  had  just  been  thrown  into  prison  when 
Dr.  Coke  arrived.  The  Governor  refused  the  latter  permission 
to  preach,  and  finally  ordered  his  removal  from  the  island  ;  Coke 
was  again  prohibited  on  a  later  visit,  in  1790.  Even  the  negro 
prayer-meetings  were  forbidden  ;  and  Black  Harry,  proving 
incorrigible,  was  deported,  by  sale,  to  the  United  States,  where 
Dr.  Coke  met  him  some  years  later  pursuing  his  work  for  Christ. 
On  his  return  to  Europe,  Coke  spent  many  weeks  in  vain  attempts 
to  persuade  the  Government  of  Holland  to  grant  religious  tolera- 
tion to  the  Methodists  of  St.  Eustatius.  But  the  light  kindled 
by  Black  Harry  was  not  put  out.  The  little  Methodist  negro 
band — some  of  them  free,  some  in  slavery — continued  to  read 
their  Bibles  and  to  meet  secretly  for  prayer  ;  occasionally,  at 
much  risk,  they  were  visited  from  other  islands.  At  last  their 
patience  was  rewarded :  the  embargo  on  Methodism  was 
removed  in  i8ii,  and  the  first  missionary,  Myles  C.  Dixon, 
arrived.  The  temper  of  the  Government  was  so  changed  that 
it  offered  now  to  subsidise  the  Mission.  Methodism  became 
the  leading  Church  of  St.  Eustatius,  winning  the  support  of 
all  classes  of  the  community. 

On  his  second  voyage  (1788-89)  Coke  made  for  Barbados 
(Windward  Isles),  where  he  stationed  one  of  his  companions, 
Benjamin  Pearce  (for  the  other  two,  see  ^.  51).  This  flourishing 
island,  with  its  large  English  population  and  its  scores  of  thousands 


WEST  INDIES  :  EMANCIPATION  AND  AFTER     55 

of  slaves,  proved  one  of  our  most  trying  fields.  A  negro  in- 
surrection in  1 81 6  terrified  the  whites  of  this  and  neighbouring 
islands.  In  1823  the  anger  of  the  gentry  was  rekindled  by  the 
news  of  the  rebellion  in  Demerara.  The  white  mob  rose  against 
the  Methodists,  demolishing  the  Bridgetown  Chapel  and  com- 
pelling the  resident  missionary,  the  noble  William  J.  Shrewsbury 
{comp.  p.  89),  to  flee  for  his  life.  The  Bridgetown  riot  excited 
attention  in  England,  and  became  the  subject  of  Parliamentary 
discussion.  Public  opinion  was  brought  to  bear  on  the  action 
of  the  local  authorities,  and  the  British  Government  bridled 
their  persecuting  rage.  But  the  atmosphere  of  Barbados  for 
long  remained  bitterly  adverse  to  missionary  effort ;  in  1833 
our  membership  was  still  below  400  in  number,  of  whom  no 
more  than  116  were  slaves  [comp.  p.  64). 

The  seven  islands  brought  into  view,  at  which  Dr.  Coke 
touched,  furnish  specimens  of  the  fields  tilled  and  the  fruit 
gathered  from  the  time  of  Coke's  planting  the  Gospel-seed  in 
the  West  Indian  Islands  up  to  the  epoch  of  Emancipation. 
The  infant  West  Indian  Churches,  like  that  of  Thessalonica, 
"  received  the  word  amid  much  affliction,  with  joy  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  "  ;  and  their  devoted  missionaries  "  were  well-pleased 
to  impart  to  them  not  the  gospel  of  God  only,  but  also  their 
own  lives." 

For  the  Circuits  that  follow,  we  must  content  ourselves  with 
little  more  than  the  enumeration  of  names  and  dates,  which  will 
at  least  suffice  to  show  how  "  mightily  grew  the  work  of  God 
and  prevailed  amongst  them," 

Tortola  (in  the  Leeward  Islands)  was  visited  by  Coke  in  1788-89, 
who  removed  Hammett  thither  from  St.  Kitt's  {see  p.  51).  The 
"  abundant  entrance  "  in  this  island  was  followed  for  a  while  by 
declension.  With  Tortola  went  the  rest  of  the  Virgin  Islands  ; 
the  whole  group  was  thoroughly  missioned.  A  signal  tribute 
was  paid  to  the  character  of  the  Methodist  converts  of  Tortola 
and  the  Virgin  Islands  in  the  fact  that,  when  a  French  invasion 
was  in  prospect,  the  Governor  armed  the  whole  body  of  the 
black  people,  including  the  slaves,  with  the  missionary  at  their 
head,  and  the  danger  was  thus  averted. 

St.  Thomas  (Danish)  was  early  visited  from  Tortola.  Although 
no  missionary  was  allowed  to  settle,  through  fear  of  British  influ- 
ence, a  small  Society  was  formed,  which  for  long  was  held  together 
by  two  coloured  women-leaders.  In  St.  Bart's  (Bartholomew's, 
Swedish),  wehad  a  missionary  from  1796  onwards.  The  Governor 
was  friendly ;  but  the  island  was  unprosperous,  and  the  Society 


56  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

never  flourished.  In  Anguilla  and  St.  Martin's  (French  and 
Dutch) — small  and  comparatively  poor  islands — Methodism  was 
started  by  John  Hodge,  a  coloured  preacher  of  much  usefulness, 
who  was  admitted  to  the  ministry.  Hodge  commenced  his  work 
in  1 813  in  Anguilla,  which  had  previously  been  without  Christian 
worship  for  twenty  years,  and  continued  it  in  St.  Martin's.  The 
Montserrat  mission  was  started  in  1820.  While  the  climate  is 
delightful,  the  people  of  Montserrat  were  poor  and  struggling  ; 
though  retarded  by  Roman  Catholic  opposition,  progress  was 
on  the  whole  steady  and  gratifying  in  this  island, 

Grenada,  Trinidad,  and  Tobago  are  the  additional  Windward 
Isles  occupied  by  the  Wesleyan  Mission  before  1833.  The  parish 
minister  of  Grenada  had  come  under  Coke's  influence  in  Bar- 
bados, and  invited  Methodist  preaching.  Here,  as  in  some  other 
cases,  Methodism  was  in  the  first  instance  self-sown  from  Antigua. 
A  Class  was  found  already  in  existence,  under  coloured  leader- 
ship, when  the  first  missionary  came.  The  population  was 
bilingual  (French  and  English),  but  under  British  rule.  The 
saintly  Abraham  J.  Bishop,  a  Jersey  man  who  had  been  extra- 
ordinarily useful  in  New  Brunswick,  was  moved  to  Grenada, 
where  a  French  preacher  was  required  ;  but  he  died  in  a  few 
months.  Subsequent  appointments  were  unfortunate  or  inter- 
rupted, and  the  work  made  little  headway  till  about  181 8.  Mean- 
while, the  parish  clerk,  Francis  Hallett  (afterwards  enlisted  in 
the  ministry),  acted  as  exhorter  and  kept  the  Society  alive. 
Grenada  has  the  distinction  of  raising  the  first  regular  Local 
Preachers  in  West  Indian  Methodism.  The  proprietors  of 
Grenada  were  generally  favourable  to  the  Gospel,  but  the  negroes 
were  singularly  apathetic  previously  to  emancipation.  In 
Grenada  we  counted  a  mpembership  of  only  459  by  the  year  1833. 

The  Trinidad  work  commenced  about  1810  ;  its  progress  was 
chequered  by  persecution,  due  chiefly  to  the  prevalence  of 
Romanism,  which  had  been  established  in  the  island  during  the 
previous  Spanish  occupation.  Here  also  the  expansion  of 
Methodism  followed  emancipation.  Jonathan  Raynar  entered 
Tobago  in  181 8  ;  good  progress  had  been  made  on  this  island  by 
the  date  of  the  Emancipation. 

Demerara  (British  Guiana)  was  attached  to  the  St.  Vincent 
District.  Two  freemen  of  colour,  named  Claxton  and  Powell, 
who  had  been  converted  under  Coke's  ministry  in  Nevis,  began 
to  work  for  God  here  in  1802.  They  had  much  success  in  spite 
of  persecution,  and  gathered  Classes  around  them  ;  in  1814 
Thomas  Talboys  was  sent  to  their  help.     The  London  Missionary 


WEST  INDIES  :  EMANCIPATION  AND  AFTER      57 

Society  had  been  at  work  for  many  years  in  this  Colony,  and  had 
borne  the  brunt  of  Government  oppression,  which  now  began  to 
relax.  But  mob-violence  rose  to  a  furious  height  in  Georgetown, 
inflamed  by  the  pamphlets  written  in  England  in  denunciation 
of  West  Indian  Missions  (to  which  Richard  Watson  made  a 
masterly  reply).  In  181 7  John  Mortier  succeeded  Talboys,  and 
remained  at  the  head  of  the  Demerara  Mission  until  1844  ;  gradu- 
ally he  disarmed  suspicion,  and  raised  the  work  to  a  state  of 
prosperity.  The  Church  passed  unscathed  through  the  slave- 
rebellion  of  1823  ;  ten  years  later  its  membership  amounted  to 
2,000,  nine-tenths  of  these  being  slaves.  Such  had  been  the 
success  of  the  L.M.S.  and  W.M.M.S.  in  Demerara,  that  when 
after  the  liberation  the  B.  and  F.  B.  Society  offered  a  Bible  to 
every  freed  slave  who  could  read,  10,000  copies  were  required. 

William  Turton,  the  second  man  of  negro  blood  enlisted  in 
the  Wesleyan  Ministry  {comp.  p.  56)  and  a  son  of  the  Mission, 
was  the  Methodist  apostle  of  the  Bahamas  ;  he  was  sent  thither 
by  Coke  in  1800.  Earlier  attempts  had  been  made  on  the  islands 
(in  1794-96),  through  preachers  commissioned  from  Charleston 
(U.S.A.)  by  Hammett,  Coke's  assistant  {see  pp.  55,  58),  who  after 
doing  good  work  for  Methodism  in  the  West  Indies  had  with- 
drawn and  formed  an  Independent  congregation  in  that  city. 
The  work  of  Hammett's  agents  left  some  sound  fruit,  and  supplied 
a  nucleus  for  subsequent  labours.  Turton  "  laid  the  foundation 
of  a  work  of  God  which,  considering  the  rapidity  and  extent  to 
which  it  spread,  and  its  wonderful  result,  has  but  few  parallels  :  " 
so  writes  one  of  his  successors.  He  died  in  181 7,  worn  out  with 
toil.  Before  this  time  the  Bahamas  had  become  a  separate 
District,  under  Turton's  Chairmanship.  In  1833  its  membership 
was  1799  in  number,  including  less  than  400  slaves. 

After  a  first  defeated  attempt  in  1789-90,  a  lodgment 
was  effected  on  Bermuda  in  1809  ;  the  missionary  was  now 
'*  caressed,"  it  is  said,  "  by  the  former  persecutors."  The 
island  was  attached  to  the  Bahamas  District,  and  shared  in  its 
prosperity.  Edward  Eraser,  the  third  coloured  West  Indian 
to  enter  the  Wesleyan  ministry  and  a  man  of  striking  ability, 
born  in  slavery,  came  from  Bermuda.  Eraser's  eloquence, 
which  was  compared  to  that  of  Robert  Newton,  greatly  aided 
the  Society  on  his  visit  to  England.  (For  the  later  history  of 
Bermudan  Methodism,  see  p.  134). 

The  negro  republican  State  of  Haiti  was  a  product  of  the 
French  Revolution.  Our  Mission  has  shared  in  its  convulsive 
history.     In  1807  Dr.  Coke  sent  two  missionaries  to  Haiti,  with 


58  WESLEY^ S  WORLD  PARISH 

the  sanction  of  President  P6tion,  which  had  been  secured  by  the 
influence  of  a  Methodist  sea-captain.  Next  year  the  missionaries 
were  expelled,  through  Romanist  bigotry,  on  Petion's  death. 
A  considerable  Society  had  however  been  gathered,  which  was 
now  exposed  to  a  storm  of  persecution  little  short  of  murderous. 
Again  the  Class-meeting  saved  the  Church.  "The  Society 
always  keeps  together,"  writes  one  of  the  sufferers,  "  by  two  or 
three  members.  The  greater  part  are  like  birds  perched  on 
boughs  which  are  violently  shaken  by  the  winds."  Amongst 
these  indomitable  French-negro  Methodists  was  a  Leader  named 
St.  Denis  Bauduy — a  man  of  lovely  character  ;  he  was  brought 
over  to  England  for  training,  and  appears  in  the  Stations  of  1827 
as  Assistant  Missionary  at  Port-au-Prince,  where  a  Society  of 
ninety  members  then  existed.  Not  till  1834  was  it  possible  to 
settle  an  EngUsh  minister  in  Haiti  {see  p.  64).  No  Methodist 
Church  has  been  more  thoroughly  tried  in  the  "  furnace  of  afflic- 
tion "  than  the  Haitian.  French-speaking  preachers  were 
required  for  this  field  ;  hence  its  reinforcements  were  repeatedly 
drawn  from  the  Channel  Islands. 

The  Honduras  Mission  was  a  continental  adjunct  to  the  Jamaica 
District  (described  below),  as  that  of  Demerara  to  the  St.  Vincent 
District.  Here  again  Methodism  preceded  the  missionary.  A 
self-sown  Society  existed  there  in  1825,  which  appealed  for 
pastoral  care,  pointing  out  the  favourable  opening  presented  for 
missionary  work.  Though  two  promising  young  missionaries, 
Thomas  Wilkinson  and  Thomas  Johnson,  died  in  succession  after 
a  few  months  of  labour,  the  work  became  well-established  in  the 
town  of  Behze  and  along  the  river  of  that  name  (in  the  British 
Colony),  also  on  the  Mosquito  Coast  (in  Spanish  territory),  before 
1833.  Beside  the  white  population  (chiefly  engaged  in  the 
mahogany  trade),  and  negro  slaves  (who  came  under  the  Act  of 
Emancipation),  the  Caribs  deported  from  St.  Vincent  were  met 
with  on  this  coast  {see  p.  51) ;  their  evangelization  was  attempted, 
but  with  melancholy  unsuccess. 

Jamaica  is  the  jewel  of  the  British  Crown  in  the  Caribbean 
Sea.  Dr.  Coke  visited  the  island  three  times  between  1789  and 
1793,  surveying  the  principal  parts  of  it.  Hammett,  the  pioneer 
of  St.  Kitt's  and  Tortola  successively  {see  pp.  51,  55),  began  our 
work  at  Kingston  in  August,  1789,  where  Methodism  took  deep 
root.  William  Fish,  who  laboured  here  from  1 792-1 805,  was 
the  most  vigorous  of  the  early  Jamaican  missionaries  ;  repeatedly 
he  "  held  the  fort  "  alone,  when  his  colleagues  had  died  or  were 
disabled. 


llad    tarred    and    iCallicrcd    liini.   and    would    liavi-    set    liini    alight, 
had    not    his    wile    dallied    the    caiKllL'    Iroin    tlic    rulliair.s    hand. 


WEST  INDIES  :  EMANCIPATION  AND  AFTER      59 

Jamaica  was  for  Methodism  a  constant  battle-field.  Coke 
himself  was  assaulted  ;  and  in  one  part  or  other  of  the  island 
persecution  was  continuous  up  till  the  time  of  emancipation. 
Kingston  was  the  principal  scene  of  the  struggle  for  thirty  years  ; 
later  it  raged  in  the  country  districts,  where  the  planters  were 
exasperated  by  the  Abolition  movement  in  England,  of  which 
they  regarded  the  Missionaries  as  accomplices.  Again  and 
again  preachers  were  silenced,  and  imprisoned  in  filthy  gaols  ; 
Methodist  slaves  were  flogged  unmercifully  ;  chapels  were  closed  ; 
every  resource  of  local  administration  was  brought  into  play  to 
obstruct  preaching  to  the  negroes  and  the  formation  of  Societies 
amongst  them.  In  1803,  and  again  in  1806,  the  Jamaican  House 
of  Assembly  passed  laws  for  the  suppression  of  "  sectarian  " 
worship,  which  had  to  be  vetoed  by  the  Crown  ;  but  for  its  pro- 
tection Methodism  would  have  been  stamped  out  like  a  pestilence. 
The  sensitiveness  of  Colonial  feeling  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
the  magistrates  of  Morant  Bay  construed  the  text  which  hap- 
pened, in  a  certain  Quarter,  to  be  printed  on  the  ticket  of  Church- 
membership,  as  an  incentive  to  sedition  :  "  The  kingdom  of 
heaven  suffereth  violence,  and  the  violent  take  it  by  force  !  " 

After  the  insurrection  of  1831 — occasioned  by  the  rumour 
amongst  the  slaves  that  the  King  had  granted  them  liberty, 
which  their  masters  were  withholding  —  the  proprietary  classes 
in  the  north  of  the  island  formed  a  "  Colonial  Church  Union," 
with  the  avowed  design  of  extirpating  Nonconformity.  They 
proceeded  to  wholesale  chapel-demolition  and  personal  outrage. 
This  movement  was  however  stopped  by  the  local  Government.* 
At  the  same  time  our  Church  had  nowhere  heartier  friends 
amongst  merchants  and  planters  than  in  Jamaica.  At  Kingston 
public  opinion  was  won  over,  by  the  years  1820-21,  to  such  a 
degree  that  the  leading  town's-people  contributed  to  the  building 
of  our  great  Wesley  Chapel ;  "all  parties  vied  with  each  other 
in  pushing  it  forward." 

♦  Not  before  a  party  of  Church  Unionists,  including  several  magis- 
trates, had  seized  Henry  Bleby,  a  young  missionary  just  arrived  at 
Falmouth,  had  tarred  and  feathered  him,  and  would  have  set  him 
alight,  had  not  his  wife  dashed  the  candle  from  the  ruffian's  hand. 
She  was  knocked  down,  and  the  five  months'  babe  she  was  carrying 
was  about  to  be  thrown  out  of  the  window,  when  rescue  arrived.  At 
St.  Ann's  Bay  the  Church  Union  rabble,  after  demolishing  the  Baptist 
and  Wesleyan  Chapels,  finding  the  ministers  escaped,  hanged  them  in 
effigy  in  the  street,  with  a  picture  of  Satan  above  the  figures  and  the 
legend  in  his  mouth  :  "  These  are  my  beloved,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased  !  " 


6o  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

The  Missionary  Committee  recognised  in  Jamaica  the  key  to 
the  position  in  the  West  Indies,  and  made  strong  efforts  to  man 
its  stations  and  to  surmount  the  heavy  recurrent  casualties. 
Sickness  and  death  decimated  the  staff ;  and  embarrassing  cases 
of  disci pUne  arose.  In  1824  a  group  of  the  Missionaries,  who 
had  associated  with  some  of  the  better  sort  of  slave-owners, 
published  a  resolution  declaring  "  that  Christianity  does  not 
interfere  with  the  civil  condition  of  slaves,  as  slavery  is  estab- 
lished in  the  British  West  Indies,"  which  gave  just  offence  at 
home.  A  circular  was  drawn  up  by  Secretary  Watson  stating 
the  policy  of  the  Committee  toward  slavery  and  censuring  the 
missionaries  concerned.  The  action  of  the  signatories  was  quite 
exceptional ;  it  was  known  that  Methodism  was  ardently  aboli- 
tionist ;  its  missionaries  were  the  trusted  friends  of  the  slaves, 
and  had  given  damaging  testimony  against  the  system  of  bond- 
age. At  the  same  time,  they  obeyed  the  strict  instructions  of 
the  Mission  House  to  avoid  inflammatory  speech,  to  live  peaceably 
with  all  men,  and  to  teach  the  slaves  obedience  and  patience. 
Under  their  tuition,  Methodist  slaves  were  notably  diligent, 
tractable  and  law-abiding,  as  candid  proprietors  bore  witness  ; 
and  their  value  to  their  masters  was  enhanced.  Seldom  was  a 
Methodist  negro  found  implicated  in  disorder ;  in  not  a  few 
instances  the  masters  and  their  families  owed  their  Uves  to  the 
fidelity  of  their  converted  bondmen. 

For  all  this,  prejudice  and  slander  increased  as  emancipation 
approached  ;  the  slave-holding  gentry  were  seized  with  a  blind 
fury,  of  which  the  missionaries  became  the  mark.  But  the 
institution  was  doomed  on  which  their  power  was  built.  Genuine 
Christianity  and  serfdom  could  not  co-exist.  As  the  negroes 
improved  in  character  and  became  chaste,  sober,  well-conducted, 
their  servile  condition  appeared  more  and  more  shocking  and 
weighed  on  the  conscience  of  the  British  people.  However 
peaceable  their  behaviour,  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  were,  in 
effect,  the  deadly  enemies  of  the  institution  on  which  English 
society  rested  in  the  West  Indies,  and  on  which  it  was  likely  to 
be  based  in  all  tropical  colonies  if  it  could  be  upheld  in  this  in- 
stance. Missionary  work  rendered  its  continuance  impossible — 
on  the  one  hand  by  its  redemptive  effect  on  the  slaves,  on  the 
other  hand  by  its  reaction  on  British  public  opinion. 

The  fifty  years'  labour  of  our  Church  in  this  distressful  field 
had  a  signal  and  pathetic  reward  in  the  scenes  which  attended 
the  proclamation  of  Freedom  on  August  ist,  1834.  Fears  of 
riot  and  bloodshed  were  prevalent ;    the  police  and  military  of 


WEST  INDIES  :  EMANCIPATION  AND  AFTER     6i 

the  islands  were  held  in  readiness.  But  churches  and  chapels 
were  opened  everywhere  for  midnight  worship ;  the  negroes 
flocked  to  them,  and  in  deep  solemnity,  with  tears  and  sobs  of 
thanksgiving,  poured  out  their  souls  to  God.  No  great  social 
revolution  was  ever  brought  about  with  less  of  civil  disturbance, 
and  with  more  of  pure  happiness  and  gratitude.  For  the  Gospel 
had  made  multitudes  of  the  slaves  already  Christ's  freemen,  and 
had  formed  in  them  a  new  heart  and  a  right  spirit  {comp.  p.  84). 

By  this  time  the  Methodist  membership  was  13,000  strong  in 
Jamaica,  having  grown  steadily  through  all  the  troubles.  Three- 
fourths  of  this  number  were  slaves. 

The  Jamaica  District  was  formed  in  181 6,  and  in  1833  con- 
tained fifteen  Circuits,  including  the  two  of  Honduras. 

Our  total  Church-constituency  throughout  the  islands  was  about 
32,000,  of  whom  more  than  two- thirds  had  been  gathered  from 
slavery. 

Emancipation  was  followed  by  "  some  years  of  special  bless- 
ing "  for  West  Indian  Methodism  ;  the  negro  people  pressed  into 
the  Church.  Despite  liberal  reinforcements  sent  from  England, 
a  number  of  the  missionaries  were  disabled  by  the  excessive  toil 
brought  upon  them  by  success.  Education  was  the  necessity  of 
the  hour  :  this  was  largely  provided  in  its  elementary  form  ; 
but  the  higher  schooling  needed  to  furnish  a  competent  native 
ministry  and  a  responsible  laity  was  not  forthcoming.  Later 
troubles  were  largely  due  to  this  defect,  which  even  now  is  poorly 
supplied. 

Straitened  in  its  funds  at  home  and  turning  to  new  fields 
abroad,  the  Missionary  Society  grew  impatient  with  the  West 
Indies,  just  at  the  time  when  improved  educational  plant  and 
increased  pastoral  care  were  necessary  in  order  to  raise  the 
liberated  negro  to  a  Christian  manhood.  Expenditure  on  the 
West  Indian  Districts  was  severely  cut  down  :  the  eldest  chil- 
dren of  the  Missionary  Society  had  reached  the  age,  surely,  to 
shift  for  themselves  !  The  parent  Church,  in  reckoning  thus, 
allowed  too  little  for  the  lingering  effect  of  generations  of  servi- 
tude :  "  The  calling  of  Missionary  Societies,"  wrote  Secretary 
Beecham  in  1853,  "  is  to  plant  Churches  among  the  heathen  and, 
having  nourished  them  to  a  certain  degree  of  maturity,  then  to 
leave  them  to  provide  for  themselves."  A  sound  general  doc- 
trine, but  bearing  cruelly  on  a  Church  of  enfranchised  slaves ; 
the  maturity  was  wanting,  and  pupilage  must  still  continue. 

Emancipation,  moreover,  unhinged  the  economic  system  of  the 


62  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

islands.  The  former  slave-holders  could  ill  adapt  themselves  to 
changed  conditions.  The  former  slaves,  hating  the  old  plantation 
and  factory-life,  scattered  through  the  country,  squatting  on 
patches  of  land  where  they  made  a  bare  subsistence,  or  crowded 
into  town-employments  for  which  they  were  unsuited.  The 
adoption  of  free-trade  by  England  completed  the  ruin  of  the 
sugar-planters.  The  staple  industry  of  the  islands  was  crippled  ; 
where  it  survived,  it  was  carried  on  by  indentured  labour  im- 
ported from  Africa  or  India.  Commercial  depression  was  ex- 
treme, and  the  poverty  of  the  negroes  almost  universal.  Deep 
discouragement  settled  upon  the  Methodist  Societies,  hardly 
relieved  for  many  years.  "  A  long  succession  of  unfavourable 
causes,"  says  the  Report  of  1866,  "  has  operated,  sometimes 
locally,  sometimes  generally,  to  frustrate  the  plans  of  the  Commit- 
tee, check  the  efforts  of  the  people,  and  repress  the  energies  of 
the  missionaries.  .  ..  A  great  and  good  work  is  still  carried  on,  but 
it  cannot  be  said  to  flourish  as  in  former  days.  A  generation  has 
grown  up  in  freedom,  never  knowing  the  oppressions  and  sorrows 
under  which  their  fathers  groaned  :  it  is  more  sorrowful  than 
surprising  that  some  of  them  should  neither  prize  the  ordinances 
of  religion  as  their  fathers  did,  nor  be  willing  to  support  them  out 
of  their  little  means  as  their  fathers  were." 

The  insurrection  of  the  Jamaican  blacks  in  1865  demonstrated 
the  existence  of  bitter  discontent,  and  of  a  savage  element  in  the 
community,  for  which  freedom  had  proved  an  empty  boon.  The 
great  majority  of  the  Methodists  remained  loyal :  "  No  man," 
they  said,  "  shall  turn  us  from  that  Government  which  has  made 
us  free  men."  The  results  of  this  rising,  and  of  the  drastic  measures 
taken  to  suppress  it,  were  calamitous  for  our  work;  "  this  inter- 
necine warfare,"  writes  one  missionary,  "  increases  the  load  which 
we  before  thought  as  much  as  we  could  bear."  A  Presbyterian 
minister,  writing  in  1867,  accurately  sums  up  the  situation  in 
Jamaica,  when  he  reports  more  than  half  the  population  as  still 
practically  heathen  ;  "  the  good  that  has  been  done,"  he  adds, 
"  is  palpable  in  the  pure  and  blameless  lives  of  thousands  who 
have  been  redeemed  from  vice  and  ignorance  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  missions.  But  beyond  the  pale  of  this  holy,  life- 
giving  influence  there  are  thefts  and  robberies,  drunkenness,  vice, 
and  crime."  Jamaican  society  lacked  the  stability  given  by  an 
intelligent,  industrious  middle  class,  which  was  slow  to  develop 
out  of  a  population  of  freed  slaves. 

At  length  the  long-ebbing  tide  began  to  turn.  In  1869,  for 
the  first  time  in  many  years,  a  numerical  increase  was  reported  in 


WEST  INDIES  :  EMANCIPATION  AND  AFTER     63 

the  Methodist  membership.  The  thoughts  of  the  Missionary- 
Committee  were  directed  to  higher  education  and  the  training 
of  a  native  ministry.  In  1878  a  High  School  for  Boys  was  opened 
at  York  Castle,  in  Jamaica,  with  a  small  Theological  Department 
attached  to  it.  Grants  from  the  Jubilee  Fund  (1863)  reduced  the 
crushing  burdens  resting  upon  Church  property.  The  people 
responded  to  the  stimulus,  and  surpassed  their  own  high  record 
of  liberality. 

The  improvement  continuing  through  the  'seventies,  and  the 
revived  hopefulness  abroad  in  the  West  Indian  Churches, 
prompted  thoughts  of  independence.  Early  in  the  'eighties  a 
movement  was  set  on  foot  for  the  formation  of  a  Triennial  West 
Indian  Conference,  modelled  upon  those  of  other  colonies,  with 
subordinate  (Western  and  Eastern)  Annual  Conferences,  including 
all  the  Districts  of  this  region  except  those  of  Honduras  and  the 
Bahamas,  for  which  the  care  of  the  Missionary  Society  was  in- 
dispensable. The  first  General  Conference  met  in  1884  under  the 
Presidency  of  George  Sargeant,  a  man  of  spiritual  power,  admini- 
strative gifts,  and  gracious  temper,  who  had  stood  by  the  West 
Indian  Mission  through  its  years  of  disenchantment. 

The  experiment  of  West  Indian  autonomy,  bravely  commenced, 
proved  to  be  premature.  The  causes  of  failure  have  been  already 
indicated.  Responsible  lay-leaders,  qualified  to  take  their  part 
in  Circuit  and  Connexional  affairs,  were  few  and  far  between.  To 
this  defect,  and  to  the  continued  poverty  of  the  bulk  of  the  people, 
was  due  the  inability  which  the  Church  showed  to  bear  its  ad- 
ministrative burdens  and  to  rear  an  adequate  local  ministry. 
Beside  these  internal  difficulties,  during  the  twenty  years  of  in- 
dependence the  islands  were  visited  with  one  disaster  after  another 
— hurricane  and  earthquake,  drought  and  flood,  cholera  and 
yellow  fever— until  the  faith  of  the  most  sanguine  was  daunted. 
The  Churches  were  overwhelmed  with  debt,  contracted  in  the 
restoration  of  Church-property;  despite  the  endeavours  of  a 
willing  people,  widespread  Circuit  bankruptcy  was  imminent. 
In  the  paucity  of  qualified  lay-officers,  the  temporal  cares  of  the 
Church  rested  with  intolerable  weight  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
ministry.  The  British  Conference  was  compelled  to  come  to  the 
rescue,  and  in  1905  the  West  Indian  Districts  put  themselves 
again  under  the  tutelage  of  the  Missionary  Committee.  The 
people,  however,  are  still  with  us  ;  the  prospects  of  the  islands 
are  brightening  ;  and  there  has  been  a  considerable  increase  of 
Church-membership,  and  an  improvement  in  local  contributions, 
since  the  transference. 


64  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

New  missions  were  opened  in  this  province  during  the  period 
last  reviewed.  The  Jamaica  District  followed  its  Methodist 
emigrants  to  Panama,  and  to  Costa  Rica,  on  the  mainland,  in  the 
course  of  the  'eighties.  In  both  Republics  the  work  has  spread, 
and  considerable  Churches  have  been  raised  up.  Turk's  Island 
was  similarly  occupied  at  an  earlier  date. 

Haitian  Methodism  {see  p.  57)  began  to  thrive  about  the  time 
of  the  Emancipation.  Following  John  Tindall  (1834-37),  who 
entered  into  the  labours  of  St.  Denis  Bauduy  {see  p.  58)  and  laid 
good  foundations  for  the  future,  Mark  B.  Bird  for  forty  years 
built  up  the  Church  amid  the  constant  peril  and  distraction 
attending  the  instability  of  civil  affairs  in  the  Black  Republic. 
Mr.  Bird's  name  became  revered  throughout  the  island  (it  is 
commemorated  in  the  Bird  College  at  Port-au-Prince),  and 
Methodism  won  the  respect  of  its  worst  opponents.  At  the 
present  time,  leading  men  of  government  and  professional  rank 
are  amongst  our  Local  Preachers  and  Church-ofl&cers.  For  many 
years  Methodism  has  worked,  with  varying  success,  in  Santo 
Domingo,  the  Spanish  half  of  the  same  island. 

The  work  of  the  Honduras  District  has  pursued  much  the  same 
course,  amid  the  same  difficulties,  as  in  its  earlier  years  {see  p.  58), 
making  slow  but  continuous  progress. 

In  the  Bahamas  District,  and  amongst  the  smaller  islands 
generally,  the  course  of  events  during  the  years  following  Eman- 
cipation resembled  that  noted  in  the  case  of  Jamaica,  though 
with  less  marked  extremes  of  depression  and  calamity.  In 
Barbados  the  earlier  storms  of  persecution  {see  p.  55)  gave  place 
to  sunshine  and  prosperity  for  Methodism  ;  the  popular  tide 
turned  in  its  favour  as  completely  as  in  Bermuda  {see  p.  57). 

In  Trinidad  and  British  Guiana  a  new  and  formidable  mis- 
sionary problem  has  arisen.  When  the  freed  negroes  declined 
to  work  on  the  plantations,  the  employers — many  of  them  men 
of  substantial  capital — combined  to  import  East  Indian  coolies 
to  provide  labour  for  their  estates,  and  a  steady  stream  of  immi- 
gration set  in  from  East  to  West.  Hinduism  has  been  planted 
on  American  soil.  In  1852  the  first  Tamil-speaking  missionary 
— John  E.  S.  Williams  from  Ceylon — was  stationed  at  Demerara. 
He  soon  fell  a  victim  to  yellow  fever  ;  not  before  he  had  rendered 
good  service  to  the  incomers  as  their  interpreter  and  negotiator 
in  dealing  with  employers  and  the  Government.  The  work  has 
been  interrupted  through  the  difficulty  of  securing  qualified 
agents  ;  Henry  V.  P.  Bronkhurst  (1860-95),  a  native  of  India, 
has  been  our  most  persevering  and  effective  labourer  in  this 


THE  WHITE  MAN'S  GRAVE  65 

arduous  mission.  Muhammadan  coolies  soon  arrived  along  with 
the  Hindus,  and  Chinese  besides,  so  that  British  Guiana  (and 
to  a  less  extent  Trinidad)  has  become  a  polyglot  and  cosmo- 
politan mission-field.  Add  to  the  variety  of  peoples  named  the 
indigenous  Indians,  still  numerous  in  the  interior  of  Guiana,  and 
this  Colony  presents  one  of  the  most  wonderful  medleys  of  races 
and  religions,  and  one  of  the  most  interesting  centres  for  evangeli- 
zation, in  the  world.  Our  forces  on  the  ground  are  painfully 
inadequate  to  the  opportunity. 

During  the  almost  eighty  years  that  have  elapsed  since  Eman- 
cipation, the  total  membership  of  the  West  Indian  Districts  has 
advanced  from  32,000  to  nearly  51,000,  while  the  ministry  has 
been  more  than  doubled.  The  years  of  self-government,  in  many 
of  the  Districts,  did  not  contribute  to  this  advance.  The  most 
marked  development,  during  the  whole  eighty  years,  has  taken 
place  in  the  Honduras  and  Haiti  Districts,  which  have  grown 
respectively  in  their  Church-membership  from  57  to  nearly 
2,000,  and  from  83  to  1,000.  The  Bahamas  and  Jamaica  have 
not  quite  doubled  their  membership  in  this  length  of  time,  while 
the  old  St.  Vincent  District  (now  the  two  Districts  of  Barbados- 
and-Trinidad,  and  British  Guiana)  has  achieved  this  increment. 
The  Leeward  Islands  District  (including  Antigua)  alone  shows 
a  decrease,  caused  by  emigration. 


CHAPTER  VI  ' 

The  White  Man's  Grave 

The  title  of  this  chapter  is  happily  growing  obsolete.  Science 
has  mastered  the  secret  of  malaria  ;  improved  sanitary  appli- 
ances and  precautions,  if  they  do  not  afford  immunity,  enable 
the  prudent  European  to  shield  himself  from  the  perils  of  West 
African  residence  ;  and  the  pestilential  season  may  be  escaped 
by  a  temporary  retreat.  The  fatalities  on  this  field  are  nowadays 
comparatively  few,  and  will  be  further  reduced  as  the  missions 
penetrate  to  the  higher  ground  of  the  interior.  But  a  hundred 
years  back  "  the  gates  of  Hades  "  stood  wide  open  on  the  coasts 
of  Guinea  ;  they  well-nigh  "  prevailed  against  "  the  Church. 
Methodism  has  purchased  her  footing  in  West  Africa  at  a  heavy 
price  in  the  lives  of  her  sons  and  daughters. 

E 


66  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Sierra  Leone 

During  the  American  War  of  Independence  many  fugitive 
slaves  joined  the  British  forces.  When  the  struggle  ended  (in 
1783),  these  refugees  sought  new  homes.  Some  of  them  resorted 
to  the  Bahamas,  more  to  Nova  Scotia  ;  but  many  hundreds 
made  their  way  to  England.  Most  of  these  were  thrown  desti- 
tute upon  the  London  streets,  where  mendicant  blacks,  turned 
adrift  by  their  masters  or  set  free  by  process  of  law,*  were  already 
a  familiar  sight.  A  project  was  drawn  up  in  1786  by  Granville 
Sharp,  and  a  Company  formed  under  his  direction  by  friends  of 
the  negroes,  to  establish  a  refuge-colony  for  liberated  slaves  on 
the  Grain  Coast  of  Africa,  of  which  the  deported  London  blacks 
should  furnish  the  nucleus.  Sierra  Leone  was  the  spot  chosen, 
in  a  district  that  had  been  depopulated  by  the  slave-trade. 
Parliament  approved  the  scheme  and  provided  for  the  repatria- 
tion of  the  unfortunates,  only  400  of  whom,  however,  along  with 
a  few  white  people  of  low  character,  were  actually  shipped  to 
West  Africa.  The  Colony  was  thus  commenced  upon  a  small 
scale.  Its  fortunes  were  at  a  low  ebb,  when  in  1792  it  was  re- 
inforced by  the  arrival  of  more  than  1,000  free  blacks  from  Nova 
Scotia — a  vigorous  but  turbulent  accession  to  the  community. 
Other  ingredients  to  the  population  were  added,  of  a  far  from 
desirable  character,  by  importation  from  the  West  Indies.  From 
time  to  time,  after  the  prohibition  of  the  Slave-trade  in  1807, 
cargoes  of  slaves  rescued  by  the  British  cruisers,  and  gathered 
from  all  the  West  African  coast-tribes,  were  landed  at  Sierra 
Leone,  supplying  the  ultimately  preponderant  contribution  to 
this  strange  negro  blend.  The  settlement  was  viewed  with 
jealousy  by  the  neighbouring  native  tribes,  and  with  hatred  by 
all  who  were  interested  in  the  slave-trade,  which  long  remained 
powerful  on  the  shores  of  Guinea.  It  was  betrayed  by  deserters, 
and  ravaged  by  French  marauders.  The  fact  that  the  Colony 
survived  and  attained  a  good  degree  of  order  and  prosperity, 
reflects  great  credit  on  its  conductors.  In  1807  the  Royal 
African  Company  handed  over  its  responsibilities  to  the  Crown. 

*  Prior  to  1772    slaves  imported  into  England  remained  slaves,  and 
might  even  be  put  up  for  sale.     In  that  year  Lord  Mansfield  delivered 
the  famous  verdict  which  pronounced  every  man  "  free  "  who  stepped 
on  British  soil.     This  judgment  inspired  the  lines  of  Cowper  : 
"  Slaves  cannot  breathe  in  England  :  if  their  lungs 
Imbibe  our  air,  that  moment  they  are  free  !  " 
But  freedom  spelt  helplessness  and  misery  for  the  untaught  negro,  in  a 
frigid  climate. 


THE  WHITE  MAN'S  GRAVE  67 

The  undertaking  bore  from  the  outset  a  religious  stamp.  The 
Sierra  Leone  Chaplains,  in  most  instances  clergymen  of  high 
qualities,  were  repeatedly  stricken  down  by  disease.  The  C.M.S. 
made  this  station  its  charge,  and  welcomed  co-operation,  as  it 
does  elsewhere  on  the  mission-field.  Many  of  the  settlers  from 
Nova  Scotia  were  Methodists.  Some  report  about  these  had 
earlier  reached  John  Wesley,  for  in  1790  he  writes  :  "  As  a  town 
of  negroes  in  America  is  almost  without  precedent,  I  was  struck 
to  hear  of  a  Society  there.  It  is  worthy  of  particular  care  and 
attention."  Transferred  to  Sierra  Leone,  these  people  reported 
themselves  to  Dr.  Coke — the  earliest  Methodist  Society  on  the 
African  Continent,  numbering  223  ;  they  pleaded  for  a  missionary. 
Ten  years  later  Joseph  Brown,  a  coloured  Local  Preacher,  writes 
from  the  Colony  to  England  :  "  Our  congregation  consists  of 
about  forty  members,  who  appear  to  grow  in  grace.  .  ,  .  But,  as 
I  am  old,  and  my  assistant,  Mr.  Gordon,  is  likewise  advanced  in 
years,  and  as  there  is  no  prospect  of  any  suitable  person  being 
raised  up  that  could  attend  to  the  little  flock  should  we  be  called 
hence,  we  the  more  earnestly  desire  and  pray  that  God  may  send 
us  some  person  of  warm  zeal,  to  assist  in  carrying  on  His  blessed 
work."  After  long  delay,  in  September  181 1  the  first  Methodist 
missionary,  George  Warren,  sailed  for  Sierra  Leone,  accompanied 
by  three  schoolmasters,  two  of  these  being  also  Local  Preachers. 
The  Governor  and  Chaplain  cordially  welcomed  them.  They 
found  a  Society  of  no  members  in  being. 

The  prospects  of  the  Mission  were  of  the  brightest,  when  in 
less  than  twelve  months  Warren  died  ;  two  years  later  his  com- 
panions had  all  been  invalided  home.  This  was  a  beginning  of 
sorrows.  For  the  forlorn  hope  William  Davies,  an  able  Welsh 
Minister,  volunteered  in  181 5.  Mrs.  Davies  was  a  gifted  teacher  ; 
for  her  use  the  Governor  of  the  Colony  erected  a  large  school- 
house  ;  but  she  succumbed  to  the  climate  within  the  first  year. 
Her  husband  writes  touchingly  of  the  friendship  shown  in  his 
bereavement  by  the  Anglican  Chaplain.  The  two  administered 
the  Lord's  Supper  together  to  their  united  flocks,  in  church  and 
chapel  alternately.  The  Governor  also  personally  assisted  the 
labours  of  the  Wesleyan  Missionary  in  the  most  unassuming 
way.*  Under  Davies'  brief  ministry  Methodism  became  rooted 
in  Sierra  Leone. 

Samuel  Brown  and  his  wife  joined  Davies  in  December,  1816. 
The  next  July  saw  all  three  prostrate  with  fever ;    Mrs.  Brown 

*  This  was  Lord  Charles  Macarthy,  who  ruled  the  Colony  with  great 
abihty  for  many  years,  and  fell  at  last  in  a  border  war  with  the  Ashantis. 


68  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

died.  Da  vies  returned  to  England  early  in  1818  ;  Brown,  who 
was  joined  twelve  months  later  by  John  Huddlestone  and  George 
Lane,  was  transferred  soon  afterwards  to  the  West  Indies,  whence 
in  a  few  years  he  had  to  return  home.  At  the  age  of  seventy, 
this  gallant  veteran  reappeared  on  the  West  African  field,  and 
ended  his  ministry  where  its  early  triumphs  were  won.  Huddle- 
stone  and  Lane  were  both  carried  off  by  an  epidemic  of  yellow 
fever  in  1823.  Thus  in  twelve  years  five  victims  had  fallen  in 
death,  while  the  rest  of  the  staff  had  all  been  driven  from  their 
posts. 

This  melancholy  story  was  often  rehearsed  on  West  Coast 
stations.  But  as  each  man  fell,  another  filled  the  gap.  The 
uncertainty  of  tenure  made  ardent  missionaries  more  eager  to 
redeem  the  time,  and  less  heedful  of  the  physical  conditions  of 
their  work.  The  housing  was  bad*  ;  the  food  often  unsuitable  ; 
experience  in  combating  tropical  disease  was  wanting ;  the 
general  habits  of  Europeans  on  the  coast  were  reckless.  The 
"  seasoning  fever,"  which  attended  the  heavy  rains,  carried  off 
many  new-comers  ;  black- water  fever  struck  down  men  suddenly 
in  traveUing  ;  while  in  certain  years  visitations  of  yellow  fever 
decimated  the  white  community. 

Still  the  work  grew  :  fresh  ground  was  continually  won  for 
Christ ;  the  reclamation  of  the  human  debris  heaped  together 
at  Sierra  Leone  went  on  apace.  The  Anglican  Rector  of  Free- 
town, writing  in  1827  of  the  Wesleyan  missionaries,  bears  witness  : 
"  These  gentlemen  visit  the  hospitals,  the  jail,  and  the  abodes 
of  sickness,  vice,  and  misery.  .  .  .  By  constantly  going  about 
among  their  hearers,  they  evince  that  they  are  their  spiritual 
fathers.  ...  I  rejoice  in  the  good  which  I  trust  they  are  doing, 
and  I^bid  them  God-speed  !  "  On  this  mission-field  the  catholic 
spirit^was  not  lacking. 

The  wastage  of  life  and  health  in  the  Sierra  Leone  District 
made  the  raising  up  of  a  native  ministry  a  painfully  urgent 
problem.  But  it  was  not  until  1842  that,  under  the  wise  and 
generous  management  of  Thomas  Dove,  a  High  School  and 
Training  Institution  came  into  existence  ;  the  latter,  however, 
lapsed  in  1871  for  thirty  years.  Three  African  Ministers  are 
found  on  the  West  African  Stations  for  1857  :  Charles  Knight 
(1844-79) — rescued  in  childhood  from  a  slave-ship,  educated  in 
England — who  became  Chairman  of  his  District ;    Joseph  May 

*  So  late  as  i860,  Dr.  Osborn  had  to  write  from  the  Mission  House 
peremptorily  forbidding  the  brethren  to  stable  their  horses  beneath 
their  dwellmg-houses  1 


THE  WHITE  MAN'S  GRAVE  69 

(1848-91),  another  rescued  slave-child,  and  an  earnest  minister 
of  Christ ;    and  James  Hero  (1857-69). 

As  English  residence  became  more  permanent,  missionary- 
teaching  began  to  tell  more  powerfully.  Under  the  care  of 
Henry  Badger*  (S.  L.,  1837-46 ;  Gambia,  1847-51),  Thomas 
Raston  (1842-50),  and  James  Edney  (1850-56),  "  the  deepening 
of  the  work  of  God  "  became  "  a  more  marked  feature  of  success 
than  even  its  numerical  extension."  The  Society's  Report  for 
1849  tells  us  that  "  the  public  mind  is  awakening,  and  beginning 
to  see  and  feel  its  own  power  and  importance.  The  thirst  for 
knowledge  is  general  .  .  .  the  adult  population  is  seizing  every 
opportunity  for  improvement."  Intelligence  and  piety  such  as 
these  references  indicate,  were  marvellous  fruits  of  the  Spirit  to 
be  produced  upon  this  soil  and  tlirough  labours  so  broken  and 
burdened. 

For  wider  missionary  purposes,  however,  Sierra  Leone  was  a 
disadvantageous  starting-point.  The  Colony  forms  an  enclave 
on  the  coast,  enclosed  on  the  north  and  west  by  French  Guinea, 
to  which  English  missionaries  have  no  access.  Its  constituency 
had  no  local  affinities,  no  root  in  the  ground  on  which  they  dwelt. 
The  Sierra  Leoneans  having  no  common  native  dialect,  adopted 
a  sort  of  "  pidgin  English  "  ;  their  black  neighbours  despised  and 
were  despised  by  them.  Successful  as  this  Mission  was,  it  hardly 
could  become  a  mother  Church  for  Western  Africa. 

In  1857  the  S.  L.  District  embraced  four  Circuits,  with  a 
Church- membership  of  about  7,000,  employing  three  African 
Ministers  and  five  English  Missionaries. 

The  Gambia 

The  Gambia  Mission  was,  however,  an  offshoot  from  that  of 
Sierra  Leone.  The  Portuguese  first  opened  up  the  splendid 
waterway  of  the  River  Gambia  ;  by  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century  British  traders  had  ousted  them.  The  possession  of  the 
river  was  confirmed  to  England  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris  in  181 6. 
To  protect  British  interests,  and  to  check  the  troublesome  French 
slave-traders,  the  settlement  of  Bathurst  was  formed  on  St. 
Mary's  Island,  which  Ues  twelve  miles  up  the  river.  Sir  Charles 
Macarthy  {see  p.  67)  recommended  this  infant  colony  to  the 
care  of  the  W.M.M.  Society. 

*  Mrs.  Badger  was  amongst  the  most  accomplished  educational  mis- 
sionaries the  Society  has  ever  had,  teaching  first  in  the  West  Indies, 
then  for  a  number  of  years,  with  her  daughter's  help,  directing  the 
training  of  teachers  in  West  Africa  ;   she  died  in  1852. 


70  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Accordingly,  John  Morgan  was  sent  out  to  Bathurst  in  1821. 
The  settlement  contained  about  1,000  persons  (beside  a  small 
garrison) — chiefly  rescued  slaves,  with  a  few  mulattos  and  a 
sprinkling  of  Europeans.  "  The  brutal  wretchedness  of  the 
natives,"  says  Morgan,  "  surpasses  all  my  previous  conceptions 
of  misery  and  degradation.  .  .  .  Having  walked  about  amongst 
them  for  several  days,  striving  in  vain  to  make  those  who  pro- 
fessed to  understand  English  understand  the  object  of  my  coming, 
I  turned  a  wistful  eye  to  the  vessel  from  which  I  landed,  and 
wished  in  my  heart  I  could  immediately  return  in  her  to  England." 
The  arrival  of  John  Baker,  who  had  worked  successfully  at  Sierra 
Leone  and  was  conversant  with  the  broken  negro  English,  put 
another  face  on  the  situation. 

But  the  missionaries  were  instructed  to  evangelize  the  Jolof 
and  Mandingo  heathen  on  the  mainland.  This  was  extremely 
difficult.  The  prevalence  of  the  slave-trade  made  every  white 
man  suspected.  Moreover  Muhammadanism  was  rife  along  the 
river,  and  barred  the  way.  The  two  missionaries  made  an  heroic 
and  well-devised  attempt  to  plant  a  mission-station  amongst  the 
Jolof s.  They  were  prostrated  by  the  climate,  and  Baker  was 
removed  to  the  West  Indies.  William  Bell  arrived  to  take 
Baker's  place — a  picture  of  flourishing  health — and  died  in  a 
few  weeks.  The  Gambia  District  proved  as  fatal  to  its  mis- 
sionaries as  that  of  Sierra  Leone.* 

In  1823  a  second  British  settlement  was  made  at  Macarthy's 
Island,  in  the  heart  of  the  Mandingo  country  150  miles  above 
St,  Mary's  ;  and  land  was  here  set  apart  for  a  mission.  The 
Mandingos  were  mostly  Muhammadans  ;  the  Fulahs  (for  whose 
benefit  the  industrial  mission  referred  to  on  p.  16  had  been 
designed)  were  their  slaves  ;  they  remained  heathen.  These 
were  a  peaceable  and  industrious  people,  and  Morgan  pitied 
their  condition  ;  when  in  1824  a  new  colleague  arrived  to  assist 
him  at  Bathurst,  he  removed  to  Macarthy's  Island  with  a  view 
to  reach  them.  The  long  river  journeys  aggravated  his  chronic 
fever  ;  in  the  next  year  his  shattered  health  drove  him  to  Eng- 
land, leaving  behind  him  in  Bathurst  "  a  small  Church  of  natives 
about  thirty  in  number,  one  of  whom  had  begun  to  preach  the 
Gospel." 

Under  Morgan's  successors  the  St.  Mary's  Society  steadily 
grew,    despite   frequent   changes   of   ministry.     Competent   and 

*  The  nature  of  the  climate  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  out  of 
397  British  soldiers  sent  to  the  Gambia  in  the  years  1825-26,  only  120 
were  alive  at  the  end  of  nineteen  months. 


THE  WHITE  MAN'S  GRAVE  71 

willing  native  helpers  were  raised  up.  Five  Gambian  Assistant 
Missionaries  figure  on  the  Stations  between  1830  and  1848. 
All  these  men  had  been  slaves  of  French  proprietors,  who  though 
free  on  British  territory  were  Uable  to  re- capture  across  the 
border  *  ;  their  freedom  was  purchased,  partly  by  their  own 
savings  and  partly  by  British  contributions. 

Though  for  some  years  it  was  impossible  to  develop  the  up- 
river  work,  Macarthy's  Island  (now  peopled  by  liberated 
slaves)  was  not  abandoned.  John  Cupidon,  the  senior  Native 
Assistant,  was  posted  here  in  1832  ;  before  long  he  complained 
that  his  scholars  were  overtaking  him  !  Mr.  Morgan  advocated  the 
cause  of  the  Fulahs  in  England,  with  such  effect  that  in  1832-33 
a  small  undenominational  society  was  formed  "  for  benefiting 
the  Fulah  tribe,  and  through  their  instrumentality  the  interior 
of  Western  Africa."  A  special  fund  was  thus  raised  to  maintain 
the  up-river  Mission  for  a  term  of  years,  at  the  end  of  which  it 
was  expected  to  be  self-supporting.  Thomas  Dove  was  sent 
out  by  this  means  in  the  spring  of  1833.  Afterwards  came 
Robert  Macbrair  (previously  in  Alexandria,  see  p.  128),  a 
scholarly  man,  who  was  to  study  Mandingo  in  order  to  translate 
the  Gospels  into  this  language,  which  the  Fulahs  used.  Unhap- 
pily he  was  struck  down  by  illness,  aggravated  by  malicious 
persecution,  after  nine  months  in  the  country.  Notwithstand- 
ing, a  promising  Fulah  community  was  by  this  time  created  on 
Macarthy's  Island. 

Dove's  successor,  William  Fox,  thus  described  the  occupations 
of  the  missionary  :  "In  addition  to  frequent  preaching  and 
pastoral  duties,  he  had  to  superintend  a  number  of  mechanics, 
being  architect  and  builder  too  ;  besides  which  he  had  on  the 
600  acres  of  land  sometimes  seventy  day-labourers  preparing 
it  for  cultivation,  with  about  as  many  head  of  cattle.  He  had 
also  to  act  as  a  magistrate  ;  and  no  small  time  was  spent  in 
dispensing  medicines.  ...  He  was  a  kind  of  ambassador-general 
to  most  of  the  petty  chiefs  and  kings  for  some  hundred  miles 
east,  west,  north,  and  south."  All  this  (in  Fox's  case),  in  the 
intervals  between  prostrating  attacks  of  fever  and  dysentery  I 
Along  the  course  of  the  Gambia,  the  hinterland  and  the  indigenous 
tribes  have  at  last  been  reached.  While  the  Gospel  was  preached 
in  the  Jolof  and  Mandingo  tongues,  at  the  same  time  industrial 
training  was  carried  on  ;  and  from  this  outpost  Scripture  was 
circulated,  through  the  native  traders,  far  and  wide. 

*  Great  Britain  possesses  only  a  narrow  strip  of  land  along  the  river- 
side ;   the  interior  forms  the  French  province  of  Senegambia. 


72  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

The  result  of  the  five  years'  work  projected  in  1833  by  the 
"  Southampton  Committee  "  under  Morgan's  instigation,  is  thus 
summarised  :  "  Upwards  of  two  hundred  natives  have  already 
embraced  Christianity,  and  are  united  in  Church-fellowship. 
The  Mandingo  language  has  been  reduced  to  grammatical  form, 
and  a  grammar  and  elementary  books  have  been  printed ;  the 
Gospels  have  been  translated  into  that  language.  A  good  school 
is  in  successful  operation.  The  commencement  of  a  Fulah  village 
has  been  made  at  Macarthy's  Island  ;  and  the  necessary  imple- 
ments of  husbandry  have  been  furnished  to  it." 

But  the  Gambia  Mission  has  fallen  short  of  the  hopes  of  its 
projectors.  The  cruel  climate  prevented  continuity  of  opera- 
tion. The  prevalence  of  Muhammadanism  and  the  frequent 
disturbances  amongst  the  riverain  tribes  have  forbidden  the 
extension  of  the  work  to  the  mainland.  Charles  Knight  {see  p.  68), 
appointed  to  this  post  from  the  older  District  in  1854,  writes  : 
"  I  found  the  beautiful  mission-house  and  premises  dilapidated. 
.  .  .  The  Society  is  in  many  respects  half  a  century  behind  those 
at  Sierra  Leone." 

In  1857  the  Gambia  District  contained  three  Circuits,  with  an 
aggregate  membership  of  something  less  than  a  thousand  souls. 

The  Gold  Coast 

Cape  Coast  Castle,  situated  700  miles  east  by  south  of  Sierra 
Leone — a  stronghold  of  the  slave-trade  in  its  palmy  days — had 
been  an  English  fort  as  far  back  as  1651.  From  1751  onwards 
the  S.P.G.  supplied  a  succession  of  Chaplains,  under  whose  care 
a  school  was  carried  on  for  English  teaching  within  the  Castle 
walls,  with  much  benefit  to  the  surrounding  natives. 

In  1830,  when  the  chaplaincy  was  vacant  and  no  Christian 
minister  had  visited  the  spot  for  many  years,  a  group  of 
native  lads  trained  in  the  C.C.C.  school,  who  had  learnt  to 
love  the  Bible,  became  seekers  of  salvation  and  formed  them- 
selves into  a  "  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge." 
They  drew  up  simple  rules  of  conduct,  and  met  weekly  for 
prayer  and  Scripture-study.  The  supply  of  Bibles  running 
short,  they  ordered  a  consignment  through  a  certain  Captain 
Potter,  a  Bristol  Methodist,  trading  at  the  port.  Delighted 
with  this  commission,  the  good  Captain  prompted  the  applicants 
to  ask  for  a  missionary  besides.  The  Governor  of  the  settle- 
ment approved,  and  advised  that  the  W.M.M.S.  should  be 
approached  ;    "  for,"  said  he,  "  these  people  with  their  fervour 


Thomas  B.    FrccMiiaii   Ijefoic    the   Court   oE   the   Kinfi   o[  Asliantl. 


THE  WHITE  MAN'S  GRAVE  73 

remind  me  much  of  the  members  of  that  Church  in  England." 
Captain  Potter  carried  the  petition  to  the  Missionary  Committee 
in  London,  and  offered  to  convey  the  minister  appointed  free 
of  charge. 

Joseph  Dunwell  was  the  chosen  man  ;  he  reached  the  coast 
in  January,  1835.  Speaking  of  his  reception,  he  writes  :  "  Joy 
beamed  on  every  countenance.  Their  gratitude  is  without 
bounds,  and  they  say,  *  We  did  never  think  of  the  missionary's 
coming  to  teach  black  man  !  '  "  In  less  than  six  months  Dunwell 
fell  a  victim  to  the  coast-fever.  The  next  year  two  young 
couples  arrived  to  occupy  this  promising  station  :  within  a  few 
weeks  one  man  alone  was  left ;  and  he,  burying  his  sorrow  in 
prodigious  labour,  followed  his  companions  to  the  grave  ten 
months  later.  Meanwhile  God  was  preparing  the  workman — 
"  a  child  of  the  sun,"  as  he  loved  to  say — qualified  to  build  up 
the  Church  of  God  on  these  death-dealing  shores. 

Thomas  Birch  Freeman  was  the  son  of  a  negro  father  and 
English  mother,  born  in  England.  He  was  well  educated,  and 
graduated  as  a  scientific  gardener.  In  1837  he  was  accepted 
by  the  W.M.M.S.  for  service  in  West  Africa,  and  arrived,  with  his 
cultured  English  wife,  at  Cape  Coast  Castle  in  January  of  the 
following  year.  He  took  up  the  task  of  church-building  already 
commenced  ;  by  the  month  of  June  a  sanctuary  was  raised 
which  seated  nearly  1,000  hearers,  and  was  filled  at  its  opening. 
In  the  midst  of  these  labours,  his  wife  suddenly  sickened  and 
died. 

Freeman's  work  on  the  coast  prospered  ;  but  his  heart  yearned 
toward  the  heathen  of  the  interior.  He  tells  us  that  during 
those  early  months,  "  the  tales  of  horror,  wretchedness  and 
cruelty  which  I  often  heard  respecting  the  Ashantis,*  wrought 
in  my  mind  the  deepest  commiseration,  and  a  constant  rest- 
lessness to  commence  missionary  operations  amongst  them." 

In  January,  1839,  Freeman  made  a  journey  to  Kumassi,  leaving 
WiUiam  de  Graft,  the  leader  of  the  Bible-student  band  previously 
referred  to,  in  charge  of  the  coast- mission.  The  Colonial  Governor, 
along  with  the  newly-formed  Churches,  bore  most  of  the  charges 
of  the  expedition.  After  a  tedious  march  and  long  detention, 
during  which  the  missionary  ingratiated  liimself  with  the  people, 
he  reached  his  goal  and  was  received  by  the  king  in  barbaric 

*  Ashanti  is  an  important  native  kingdom,  now  incorporated  in 
British  territory,  whose  capital,  Kumassi,  lies  about  loo  miles  due  north 
of  Cape  Coast  Castle.  The  Ashantis  were  hereditary  enemies  of  the 
coast  natives,  the  Fantis. 


74  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

state.  The  Court,  on  rising,  defiled  past  its  guest  in  a  procession 
lasting  a  full  hour  and  a  half.  For  some  days  the  visitor  was 
confined  to  his  apartments,  as  His  Majesty  "  was  aware  that 
Europeans  did  not  like  to  see  human  sacrifices  !  "  All  day  long 
the  muffled  death-drums  beat,  and  Freeman  watched  from  the 
courtyard  of  his  lodging  the  vultures  wheeling  over  the  city  of 
blood.  At  liberty  once  more,  he  wandered  through  the  town 
finding  streets  wide,  clean  and  regular,  but  horrible  with  corpses 
lying  in  all  directions,  headless  and  in  every  stage  of  putrefaction. 
As  the  rainy  season  approached.  Freeman  craved  permission  to 
depart.  When  he  spoke  of  returning  to  establish  a  resident 
missionary,  the  King  asked  time  for  consideration,  promising 
an  answer  if  Mr.  Freeman  would  communicate  with  him  again 
after  the  rains  ;  and  dismissed  him  with  liberal  gifts.  Content 
with  this  reply,  Freeman  returned  to  the  coast. 

The  opening  thus  gained  into  the  heart  of  heathendom  em- 
barrassed the  Committee  at  home.  Its  available  funds  were 
already  pledged,  yet  the  call  of  Ashanti  might  not  be  refused. 
Freeman  and  de  Graft  were  therefore  invited  to  plead  their  cause 
with  the  Methodist  public,  their  places  being  supplied  meanwhile 
from  England.  They  did  this  so  well,  that  in  December,  1840, 
they  sailed  back  to  Cape  Coast  accompanied  by  eight  additional 
missionaries  (including  three  wives),  and  bearing  a  handsome 
present  from  the  Missionary  Society  for  the  Ashanti  King. 
"  Never  was  a  missionary  party  sent  out  from  England  with  a 
more  intense  feeling  of  sympathy  and  interest  !  "  By  the  follow- 
ing September  the  eight  had  been  reduced  to  three-^one  married 
couple,  and  a  single  man  ;  four  had  died,  and  a  fifth  had  gone 
home  disabled. 

In  November,  1841,  Freeman  journeyed  again  to  Kumassi, 
taking  with  him  a  young  missionary  named  Robert  Brooking, 
and  conducting  homewards  two  youthful  Ashanti  princes,*  who 
had  been  received  as  hostages  by  the  British  Government  and 
educated  for  some  time  in  England,  where  they  had  embraced 
Christianity.  The  King  received  the  missionaries  with  effusive 
demonstrations  of  favour — one  day  donning  an  ancient  English 
uniform  and  inviting  them  to  a  dinner  served  in  what  he  supposed 
to  be  the  highest  English  style  ;  on  the  next  introducing  them 
to  the  apartments  of  his  wives,  and  executing  a  dance  before  them 
in  honour  of  themselves  and  their  illustrious  Queen.  After  these 
courtesies,   he   permitted   them  to   preach   in   public  and   hold 

♦  One  of  these  royal  youths,  named  John  Ossu  Ansah,  served  as  an 
Assistant  Missionary  from  1851-61. 


THE  WHITE  MAN'S  GRAVE  75 

Christian  worship.  The  little  party,  including  the  two  Christian 
princes,  celebrated  the  Lord's  Supper  and  took  the  Methodist 
Covenant  together,  in  this  blood-steeped  city. 

The  Mission  was  thus  set  on  foot,  and  Christian  influence 
steadily  grew  in  Kumassi.  Soon  after  the  coming  of  the  mission- 
aries, a  conflagration  broke  out,  gutting  many  houses  which 
contained  costly  Muhammadan  charms  against  fire  ;*  the 
failure  of  this  insurance  shook  the  power  of  the  fetish-mongers, 
and  supplied  a  telling  evidence  against  witchcraft.  In  1843, 
George  Chapman  (Brooking's  successor)  was  able  to  settle  a 
dispute  between  the  King  and  the  British  power,  by  this  means 
strengthening  the  hold  of  the  Mission  both  upon  King  and  people. 
A  strange  scene  was  witnessed  at  Kumassi  in  the  spring  of  1 844  : 
to  the  familiar  sound  of  the  death-drum,  a  young  Ashanti  prince 
publicly  consigned  his  fetish  to  the  flames  ;  at  the  same  time, 
two  leading  chiefs  were  allowed  to  commute  for  a  contribution 
in  gold  their  prescribed  tribute  of  slaves  for  the  periodic  wholesale 
human  sacrifice  then  in  preparation. 

In  1845  Chapman  lay  dangerously  ill ;  the  King  first  sent  his 
medical  attendant,  whose  aid  was  courteously  declined  ;  then 
he  visited  the  patient  in  person  to  impart  his  blessing,  which 
was  accounted  a  sovereign  remedy  in  all  diseases — a  token  of 
goodwill  unexampled  in  the  case  of  a  stranger.  Despite  these 
attentions,  the  missionary's  sickness  compelled  his  retreat,  at  the 
very  time  when  his  work  appeared  on  the  way  to  full  success. 
Other  good  men  followed  Chapman  at  Kumassi ;  but  these  died 
or  broke  down  one  after  another,  before  they  had  mastered  the 
language.  For  the  time,  the  climate  effectually  prohibited  the 
advance  of  the  Gospel  in  Ashanti,  and  reinforcements  ceased  to 
be  sent.  The  Missionary  Notices  for  1862  intimate  that  "  for 
many  years  the  Mission  House  and  Chapel  at  Kumassi  have  been 
occupied  by  a  native,  hired  for  the  purpose  of  looking  after  the 
property."  It  was  not  until  the  following  decade  that  an  English 
minister  again  occupied  this  post.  The  Ashanti  story  will  be 
resumed  in  Chapter  XV. 

Freeman  sought  to  reach  the  hinterland  in  other  directions 
beside  that  of  Ashanti.  In  1842  we  find  him,  with  the  faithful 
de  Graft,  landing  at  Badagry  on  the  Slave  Coast,  320  miles  east 
of  C.C.  Castle,  in  answer  to  a  summons  from  Abeokuta,  the  capital 
of  the  Yoruba  country.     Along  this  shore  the  traffic  in  human 

*  The  Muhammadans  sell  protective  charms  to  the  heathen  con- 
taining verses  from  the  Koran,  which  continue  to  have  a  great  sale  in 
West  Africa. 


76  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

flesh  was  still  busy  ;  hundreds  of  slaves  were  yearly  exported 
from  Eko  (now  Lagos),  a  short  distance  further  east.  A  number 
of  Yoruba  slaves,  rescued  some  years  previously  and  settled  at 
Sierra  Leone,  had  .purchased  a  small  vessel  to  ply  in  the  Gulf. 
Sailing  along  the  Slave  Coast,  these  mariners  recognised  features 
of  their  home-landscape.  They  landed  at  Lagos  and  followed 
the  river  up  to  Abeokuta,  where  they  found  friends  of  their 
childhood  still  alive.  The  news  they  carried  back  to  Sierra 
Leone  led  a  company  of  their  kindred  to  club  together  and  buy 
disused  slave-ships,  in  which  they  migrated  to  their  native  land. 
The  Lagos  slave-dealers,  taking  alarm  at  this  movement,  mal- 
treated the  returning  negroes  and  blocked  the  way  from  Lagos 
inland.  The  Badagry  road  to  Abeokuta,  however,  was  open, 
and  by  this  a  message  came  to  the  missionary  at  Cape  Coast 
Castle  :  "  For  Christ's  sake  come  quickly  !  Let  nothing  but 
sickness  prevent  you.  Do  not  stop  to  change  your  clothes,  to 
eat  or  drink  or  sleep  ;  and  salute  no  man  by  the  way."  Thomas 
Freeman  was  not  the  man  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  this  appeal. 

Arrived  at  Badagry,  where  human  sacrifices  were  even  more 
frequent  than  at  Kumassi,  he  first  put  up  a  Mission  House  in 
that  place,  and  then  set  off  for  Abeokuta,  70  miles  northward. 
To  some  one  who  warned  him  of  the  dangers  of  the  route,  his 
servant  answered  :  "  My  master  does  not  care  for  that  !  His 
work  is  just  now  in  the  interior,  and  he  will  therefore  go.  If  he 
live,  it  will  be  well ;  if  he  die,  it  will  be  well.  He  does  not  care  : 
he  has  a  good  home  to  go  to  when  he  dies."  On  reaching  Abeo- 
kuta, the  traveller  was  greeted  with  cries  of  "  Welcome,  welcome, 
white  man  !  Blessing  !  Long  life  to  you,  white  man  !  "  The 
chief,  Shodeke,  was  one  of  those  few  found  "  in  every  nation," 
who,  without  the  light  of  revelation,  "  fear  God  and  work  righte- 
ousness " — wise,  upright,  thoughtful.  He  had  been  much  ex- 
ercised by  the  rival  claims  of  the  Heathen  and  Muhammadan 
priests.  Now  that  the  true  hght  had  come,  he  gratefully  wel- 
comed it.  The  crafty  priests,  foiled  in  argument,  resorted  to 
poison,  and  ere  long  this  friendly  king  lay  dead.  In  after  years 
the  old  people  would  say  :  "On  the  day  that  Shodeke  died,  the 
sun  forgot  to  shine  and  the  birds  to  sing." 

At  the  close  of  this  year  a  C.M.S.  missionary  arrived  at  Abeo- 
kuta ;  and  Freeman,  leaving  de  Graft  and  his  wife  behind  at 
Badagry,  travelled  homewards  along  ^the  coast.  But  his  dreams 
were  of  an  advance  to  be  made  into  Hausaland,  with  Abeokuta 
for  its  base.  In  1851  the  British  Government  finally  stopped 
slave-deaUng  in  the  Lagos  region.     A  usurping  and  troublesome 


THE  WHITE  MAN'S  GRAVE  ^^ 

king  was  deposed  in  that  country  and  the  rightful  heir  replaced 
on  the  throne,  on  his  undertaking  to  suppress  the  slave-trade  in 
his  dominions,  to  abolish  human  sacrifices,  and  to  grant  liberty 
and  protection  to  Christian  missionaries.  The  year  1854  wit- 
nessed the  opening  of  the  Lagos  Mission,  which  now  extends  far 
into  Nigeria. 

On  his  return  to  Cape  Coast  from  Badagry  in  1843,  Freeman 
landed  at  Whydah  in  order  to  visit  Abomi,  the  capital  of  the 
Dahomian  State.  He  interviewed  the  king  of  Dahomey,  who 
requested  a  missionary  for  Whydah.  Further  westwards,  he 
found  at  Little  Popo  a  chief,  by  name  George  Lawson,  engaged 
in  forming  a  school  for  the  study  of  the  English  language,  who 
eagerly  welcomed  the  offer  of  a  teacher.  From  this  beginning 
the  Popo  Mission  sprang. 

Freeman'senergyandsuccesshadnowproducedawideimpression 
on  the  native  mind.  Openings  multiplied  in  various  directions  ; 
the  work  already  done  was  unmistakably  owned  of  God.  There 
seems  little  doubt  that  if  the  tide  then  rising  could  have  been 
"  taken  at  the  flood,"  the  Gospel  would  have  spread  fast  and  far 
in  Western  Africa.  But  by  this  time  ecclesiastical  strife  had 
checked  the  flow  of  Methodist  liberality  and  diverted  attention 
from  the  foreign  field  ;  the  fatal  cry  of  "  retrenchment  "  was 
raised  at  home.  Freeman's  excursions  and  extensions  involved 
the  Missionary  Society  in  alarming  outlay  ;  success,  it  appeared, 
was  too  costly  !  The  Committee  in  Bishopsgate  felt  itself  com- 
pelled to  cry  "  Halt  !  "  to  its  missionary  captain  on  the  Gold 
Coast ;  and  a  General  Superintendent  was  sent  out  from  England, 
with  instructions  to  keep  his  eagerness  within  bounds.  "  Condi- 
tions were  imposed  which  Mr.  Freeman  found  he  could  not 
comply  with  ;  and  the  friction  was  so  painful,  that  he  reluctantly 
severed  his  connexion  with  the  Missionary  Society  " — this  was 
in  1858.  He  retired  to  Accra,  a  town  situated  between  Lagos 
and  Ca^pe  Coast  Castle,  where  he  trained  native  youths  in  market- 
gardening  and  collected  tropical  plants  for  Kew  Gardens  in 
England,  still  serving  the  Mission  as  Local  Preacher.  He  was 
frequently  consulted  by  Government,  and  despatched  on  delicate 
embassies  to  native  tribes  in  the  interior.  In  1873  the  old  mis- 
sionary returned  to  the  ministerial  ranks,  in  which  he  laboured 
once  more  until  1886.  He  died  in  the  year  1890,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-one. 

Thomas  Freeman  was  the  one  man  given  by  God  to  West 
African  Methodism  who  combined  native  sympathies  and  apti- 
tudes, and  acclimatisation,  with  English  training  and  powers  o 


78  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

leadership,  and  who  was  able  to  give  a  full  life-service  in  this 
dangerous  field.  The  loss  to  the  Mission  of  the  fifteen  years  of 
his  retirement,  befalling  at  the  time  when  his  experience  was 
ripe  and  his  influence  at  its  height,  was  calamitous.  Notwith- 
standing this  heavy  subtraction.  Freeman  accomplished  great 
things.  He  was  the  chief  instrument  of  the  propagation  of 
Methodism  eastwards  of  Sierra  Leone,  where  a  great  and  effectual 
door  is  open  for  its  advance  at  the  present  hour. 

Freeman's  English  fellow-workers  remained  in  most  cases  too 
short  a  time  to  master  the  peculiar  problems  of  the  West  African 
field.  One  West  Indian  man  of  colour,  Henry  Wharton,  rivalled 
Freeman  in  his  endurance,  labouring  on  the  Coast  from  1845  to 
1873.  The  homeborn  ministry  was  perforce  rapidly  developed. 
In  1857  no  fewer  than  ten  African  Ministers  appear  on  the  list  of 
Stations,  seven  of  whom  completed  at  least  ten  years  of  service. 
The  Church-membership  of  the  Gold  Coast  District  recorded  in 
1857  was  2,281. 


CHAPTER  VII 

South  Africa  and  the  Two  Shaws 

In  the  course  of  the  French  wars  Holland,  compelled  to  side 
with  Napoleon,  had  been  stripped  by  England  of  her  colonial 
empire.  Java  was  restored  under  the  Treaty  of  Vienna  (1815), 
but  Ceylon  was  retained  and  Cape  Colony*,  possessions  of  first 
importance  to  the  security  of  British  India.  The  Methodist 
Conference  of  181 3  appointed  John  M' Kenny  as  its  first  missionary 
to  the  Cape. 

Methodism  already  possessed  a  footing  in  this  new  British 
Colony.  Its  pioneer  was  Sergeant  Kendrick  of  the  21st  Light 
Dragoons,  who  preached  and  held  prayer-meetings  and  Class- 
meetings,  and  despite  violent  opposition  from  his  superior 
officers,  in  a  short  time  gathered  in  and  around  Cape  Town  a 
Methodist  Society  of  several  score  people.  Then  he  sent  home 
for  help,  and  M' Kenny's  appointment  was  the  result. 

M' Kenny  was  instructed  to  make  the  evangelizing    of    the 

*  Cape  Town  was  first  seized  by  the  British  in  1795,  then  restored 
to  the  Dutch  at  the  Peace  of  Amiens  in  1802,  and  recaptured  finally 
in  1806. 


SOUTH  AFRICA  AND  THE  TWO  SHAWS         79 

native  population  (who  had  been  enslaved  by  the  Dutch)  his 
ulterior  aim.  The  missionary,  however,  found  his  way  blocked. 
"  The  soldiers,"  said  the  British  Governor*,  "  have  their  chap- 
lains appointed  ;  and  if  you  preach  to  the  slaves,  the  Dutch 
ministers  may  be  offended."  Thus  checkmated,  and  hearing 
glowing  accounts  of  the  openings  in  Ceylon,  M' Kenny  transferred 
his  services  thither  [comp.  p.  142). 

The  Methodist  soldiers  renewed  their  request  for  a  minister 
and  Barnabas  Shaw  was  selected  for  this  difficult  post.  He  and 
his  wife  landed  at  Cape  Town  in  April,  181 6.  Though  furnished 
with  an  introduction  from  the  Colonial  Secretary  in  London, 
Shaw  was  rebuffed  like  his  predecessor.  He  was  made,  however, 
of  sterner  stuff :  "  having  been  refused  the  sanction  of  the 
Governor,"  he  writes,  "  on  the  following  Sunday  I  commenced 
without  it."  For  some  months  he  proceeded,  unsanctioned  but 
unhindered,  in  his  English  ministrations,  praying  all  the  while 
for  access  to  the  heathen.  The  local  Government  remained 
disapproving  ;  the  Dutch  proprietors  thwarted  every  attempt 
to  reach  their  slaves.  The  missionaries  of  the  London  Society, 
after  struggling  long  with  the  same  difficulties,  had  gone  out 
amongst  the  tribes  of  the  hinterland.  Shaw  resolved  to  follow 
their  example.  A  Mr.  Schmelen,  of  the  L.M.S.,  labouring  in 
Namaqualand — a  barren,  thinly  peopled  region  to  the  north- 
west of  the  Colony — was  then  visiting  Cape  Town,  and  Shaw 
was  minded  to  "  trek  "  into  the  wilderness  after  him.  His  wife 
was  suffering  in  health,  but  she  anticipated  his  doubts  by  exclaim- 
ing, as  they  listened  to  Schmelen's  story  :  "  We  will  go  with  you. 
The  Lord  is  opening  our  way  to  the  heathen."  When  the  cost 
of  the  journey  was  mentioned,  and  the  probability  of  objections 
at  home,  the  brave  woman  replied  :  "If  the  Missionary  Society 
is  offended,  tell  them  we  will  bear  all  the  expense  ourselves.  We 
have  a  little  property  in  England,  and  for  this  let  it  go  !  "  The 
Governor  by  this  time  had  learnt  to  value  Mr.  Shaw,  and  offered 
him  a  vacant  Dutch  Church  to  prevent  his  departure.  On 
September  i6th,  181 6,  the  Shaws  set  out  with  the  Schmelen 
party  for  Namaqualand,  and  the  history  of  our  South  African 
Missions  began.  The  Boer  farmers  on  the  way  had  little  sym- 
pathy with  the  object  of  the  expedition  ;  but  they  showed  the 
travellers  hearty  and  lavish  hospitality,  as  they  passed  their 
homesteads.     Such  kindness  on  the  part  of  the  Boers  has  often 

♦  Lord  Charles  Somerset.  The  British  authorities,  it  should  be 
understood,  considered  themselves  in  the  early  times  of  the  Colony 
bound  to  maintain  Dutch  law. 


So  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

cheered  our  missionaries  in  their  lonely  and  toilsome  journeys 
over  the  veldt. 

Schmelen's  station  in  Great  Namaqualand  lay  beyond  the 
Orange  River.  The  Little  Namaquas*  inhabited  the  wilds  of 
the  Karee  Desert  south  of  that  river,  about  400  miles  from  Cape 
Town.  Rumours  of  Christianity  had  reached  this  people  ;  and 
it  so  befell  that  their  chief,  Jantje  Wildschott,  at  this  moment 
was  journeying  to  Cape  Town  to  seek  a  Christian  teacher.  By 
God's  guidance,  the  two  parties  met  on  the  trackless  plain. 
Recognising  in  their  encounter  the  finger  of  God,  the  missionary 
travellers  turned  aside  to  the  winter-quarters  of  Jantje's  tribe  : 
in  a  few  days  the  Schmelens  resumed  their  journey  northwards  ; 
the  Shaws  remained  behind. 

The  Namaquas  were  cattle-rearing  nomads,  living  on  milk  and 
on  venison  caught  in  hunting  ;  they  eked  out  this  diet,  in  their 
frequent  times  of  scarcity,  by  eating  locusts  and  larvae,  with 
edible  roots  and  grass-seeds  rifled  from  the  ant-heaps.  Their 
moral  condition  was  miserably  degraded  ;  they  presented  little 
but  their  good-will  to  make  life  amongst  them  tolerable,  or 
labour  for  their  elevation  hopeful.  Writing  home  shortly  after 
his  arrival,  Barnabas  Shaw  warns  the  would-be  missionary  what 
to  expect :  "In  travelling,  heat,  cold,  hunger,  thirst ;  sleeping 
in  waggons,  in  Hottentot  huts,  or  on  the  ground.  On  arriving  at 
his  station — no  bread,  till  he  sows  corn  and  reaps  it ;  no  vege- 
tables, till  he  has  made  gardens  ;   no  house  to  live  in,  till  one  is 

built  by  the  missionary's  own  hands Let  no  brother, 

however,  be  discouraged  from  coming  to  us  ;  let  him  build  on  the 
promise  of  Jesus,  '  Lo  I  am  with  you  alway  !  '  This  promise  wall 
afiord  him  water  in  the  most  barren  desert,  a  shade  from  the 
hottest  sun,  abundance  in  times  of  scarcity,  hope  in  despair, 
health  in  sickness,  pleasure  in  pain,  joy  in  sorrow,  and  life  in 
death  !  "     This  was  the  spirit  of  our  early  adventurers  for  Christ. 

For  the  summer  months  Jantje's  people  encamped  in  a  pleasant 
and  salubrious  mountain-valley,  to  which  the  Dutch  had  given 
the  name  of  Lilyfontein.  To  this  spot  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shaw  re- 
paired, with  their  savage  friends  ;  and  here  the  headquarters  of 
the  Mission  continue  to  this  day.  Preaching  began  at  once  : 
some   of   the   Namaquas   understood   Dutch,    which   Shaw   had 

*  The  Namaquas  are  a  branch  of  the  Hottentots,  the  older  people  of 
South  Africa,  who  had  been  thrust  out  by  the  invading  Kafirs  into  the 
poorer  lands.  Ethnically  they  belong  to  the  yellow  rather  than  the  black 
races  ;  their  language  is  radically  distinct  from  the  Kafir  (Bantu) 
dialects . 


SOUTH  AFRICA  AND  THE  TWO  SHAWS         8i 

already  learnt ;  for  the  rest,  interpreters  were  never  lacking.  The 
missionary's  house-building  was  a  revelation  ;  the  plying  of  tools 
fascinated  the  people  ;  indolent  as  they  were,  they  longed  to 
handle  the  magic  instruments.  By  the  following  year  there 
were  many  willing  hands  ;  and  the  church  was  erected, — largely 
by  way  of  relief- work,  as  it  was  a  time  of  distress  through  drought. 
Spiritual  fruit  before  long  was  apparent ;  conscience  troubled  the 
community  ;  debauchery  and  infanticide  diminished  and  hid 
themselves  ;  the  conception  of  a  living,  holy  God  grew  on  the 
people,  whose  native  religion  was  a  vague  animism. 

Next  to  building,  in  the  education  of  the  Namaquas,  came 
agriculture  and  the  art  of  the  smith.  Huge  was  the  excitement 
over  the  first  ploughed  furrow  ;  the  clanging  of  the  forge,  its 
giant  breath  and  fierce  flame  moulding  the  stubborn  metal  to 
man's  will,  raised  wonder  to  ecstasy.  In  the  domestic  sphere, 
the  operations  of  the  missionary's  wife  seemed  hardly  less 
miraculous  and  beneficent.  Lilyfontein  became  an  evangelistic, 
educational,  and  industrial  mission  in  one,  and  took  hold  of  the 
entire  nature  of  the  wild  heathen.  In  his  manifold  experiments 
Barnabas  Shaw  was  efficiently  aided  by  the  colleague,  Edward 
Edwards,  who  joined  him  in  the  spring  of  1818 — a  man  of  un- 
common zeal,  versatility,  and  endurance,  who  lived  to  render 
half  a  century  of  foundation-work.  South  African  Methodism 
was  favoured  in  the  calibre  and  staying-power  of  the  first  genera- 
tion of  its  ministry. 

So  successful  were  the  labours  of  Shaw  and  Edwards  and  so 
receptive  did  Jantje's  tribe  prove,  that  an  English  traveller, 
visiting  Lilyfontein  in  1821,  writes  thus  to  friends  at  Cape 
Town  :  "  You  know  I  was  formerly  averse  to  missionaries  .  .  . 
but  I  have  now  learned  to  correct  my  opinion.  I  do  assure  you 
that  theirs  is  a  most  laborious  life,  and  I  should  prefer  being  a 
slave  to  the  being  obliged  to  teach  the  Namaquas  ;  yet  the  good 
done  among  them  is  astonishing.  They  are  now,  for  the  most 
part,  in  a  state  of  civilisation  of  which  you  can  form  no  adequate 
idea."  Hearing  of  the  prosperity  of  the  station,  Lord  Charles 
Somerset  took  steps  to  make  it  permanent,  by  assigning  to  the 
Little  Namaquas  a  tract  of  country  in  joint  property,  and  placing 
it  under  the  control  of  a  Board  elected  amongst  themselves,  with 
the  resident  Wesleyan  minister  for  chairman — a  constitution 
still  in  force.  In  1855,  near  the  end  of  our  present  period,  the 
Lilyfontein  Namaquas  built  for  themselves  a  church  seating 
700  people  and  costing  ;^i,ooo — an  achievement  indicating  the 
spiritual  and  secular  progress  realised  within  a  generation. 

F 


82  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

From  Lilyfontein  the  Gospel  was  taken  to  the  Bushmen, — the 
desert  Ishmaelites  of  South  Africa.  The  constant  migrations  of 
this  people  and  their  want  of  cohesion  defeated  every  attempt  to 
Christianize  the~m.  Amongst  the  Namaqua  converts  were  three 
gifted  brothers  of  the  name  of  Links,  two  of  whom  devoted  them- 
selves to  missioning  the  Bushmen.  For  this  purpose  Jacob 
Links  was  made  an  Assistant  Missionary.  He  and  a  fellow- 
countryman,  along  with  William  Threlfall,  a  fine  young  mission- 
ary of  Yorkshire  extraction,  were  on  their  way,  in  1825,  to  start 
a  mission  north  of  the  Orange  River,  when  the  three  were  treacher- 
ously murdered  by  Bushmen.  This  was  our  first  martyrdom  in 
South  Africa  ;  the  Namaquas  had  worthily  earned  their  crown 
by  the  Englishman's  side. 

Threlf all's  journey  was  the  fourth  made  by  the  missionaries 
into  Great  Namaqualand.  James  Archbell — always  to  the  front 
in  the  early  South  African  days  {see  pp.  93,  94) — attended  by 
Jacob  Links,  had  been  sent  in  1820  to  form  a  station  amongst 
the  well-disposed  Bondleswaarts  in  this  region.  The  outbreak 
of  war  drove  Archbell  back  ;  his  second  endeavour  was  arrested 
by  the  summons,  reaching  him  in  1822,  to  join  the  mission  in 
Bechuanaland.  After  this  disappointment,  followed  by  the 
Threlfall  tragedy,  the  Great  Namaqualand  project  dropped. 

The  Bondleswaarts  still  pleaded  for  help  ;  their  plea  touched 
the  heart  of  a  certain  Mr.  Nisbett  of  the  Madras  Civil  Service, 
who  presided  over  a  missionary  meeting  held  in  the  Colony  in 
1833.  "  Cannot  something  be  done,"  he  asked,  "  for  this  miser- 
able people  ?  If  you  will  send  a  missionary,  I  will  give  ;^300. 
If  that  is  not  sufficient,  I  will  dispose  of  my  carriage  and  horses  ; 
I  would  rather  trudge  on  foot,  than  that  Great  Namaqualand 
should  not  have  the  Gospel."  At  the  same  gathering  Edward 
Cook  was  present,  newly  come  from  England  — "  a  man  of  fervent 
piety,  undaunted  courage,  and  robust  health  "  ;  he  volunteered 
for  Great  Namaqualand,  and  the  matter  was  clinched.  Peter 
Links,  brother  of  the  martyred  Jacob,  became  Cook's  companion  ; 
these  two  founded  the  station  of  Nisbett  Bath  {or  Warmbad), 
from  which  centre  the  Great  Namaquas  were  evangelized  over  an 
area  of  hundreds  of  miles.  Edward  Cook  was  another  Barnabas 
Shaw  for  energy  and  resourcefulness.  But  his  prodigal  toil 
overtaxed  his  uncommon  strength,  and  he  died,  having  crowded 
the  work  of  a  life-time  into  ten  years.  The  success  of  Lilyfontein 
was  repeated  at  Nisbett  Bath  upon  a  larger  scale,  and  under 
greater  difficulties.  Cook's  work  was  carried  forward  by  a 
succession  of  choice   men — including   Richard   Haddy,   Joseph 


SOUTH  AFRICA  AND  THE  TWO  SHAWS         83 

and  Henry  Tindall  (father  and  son),  Benjamin  Ridsdale,  John  A. 
Baihe,  and  Macleod  the  schoolmaster. 

Our  Mission  thus  extended  a  thousand  miles  from  Cape  Town, 
till  it  touched  German  South-west  Africa,  covering  in  a  straggling 
line  the  western  fringe  of  the  South  African  desert,  a  drought- 
scourged  region  rendered  barely  habitable  by  the  scant  moisture 
wafted  from  the  bordering  ocean.  Its  people  were  isolated  in 
language  and  race,  and  difficult  of  access  from  Cape  Colony,  whose 
interests  gravitated  eastwards.  Their  progress  north-westwards 
brought  the  Methodists  into  contact  with  the  (German)  Rhenish 
Mission,  which  occupied  this  coast  in  force.  At  the  same  juncture 
the  cry  of  "  retrenchment  "  arose  in  England  {see  p.  212).  It 
was  resolved  therefore,  despite  the  remonstrances  of  the  native 
Churches  and  the  missionary  staff,  to  evacuate  Great  Namaqua- 
land  in  favour  of  the  Rhenish  Missionaries,  the  Orange  River 
being  j&xed  as  the  boundary  between  the  two  Societies  ;  this 
withdrawal,  commencing  in  1852,  was  completed  in  1867.  So 
the  Germans  entered  into  a  precious  heritage  of  Methodist  labours 
in  South  Africa,  hallowed  by  martyr  blood.  They  have  been 
faithful  to  the  trust. 

Though  the  ground  won  by  Barnabas  Shaw  in  the  end  passed 
largely  into  other  hands,  the  service  he  had  rendered  in  Nama- 
qualand  was  of  the  utmost  value  to  the  Methodist  cause.  His 
was  the  first  essay  of  a  Methodist  Preacher  amongst  an  absolutely 
heathen  and  barbarian  people  ;  it  was  marked  by  manifest 
Divine  guidance,  and  attended  by  conspicuous  and  immediate 
success.  His  bold  initiative  pointed  the  way  in  South  Africa, 
and  gave  a  powerful  stimulus  to  missionary  zeal  at  home.  Bar- 
nabas Shaw  could  not  only  do  great  things  ;  he  could  do  them  in 
a  striking  fashion,  and  could  make  the  doing  of  them  live  before 
the  eyes  of  others.  He  had  the  art  of  writing  despatches  as  well 
as  of  winning  battles.  Men  of  the  heroic  type  were  drawn  into 
the  field  after  his  example. 

In  1826  Mr.  Shaw  was  recalled  to  the  Cape,  where  he  remained 
to  the  close  of  his  life,  with  a  six  years'  interval  spent  in  England. 
The  Chairman  of  the  District  was  obliged  to  reside  in  Cape  Town, 
for  the  oversight  of  the  field.  The  intolerance  of  the  Govern- 
ment and  the  European  colonists  gradually  abated.  Our  work 
advanced  amongst  soldiers  and  civilians,  in  town  and  country. 
In  this  field  Colonial  Methodism  was  associated  at  every  point 
with  native  interests  ;  the  local  Church,  in  the  main,  has 
acted  a  missionary  part  toward  the  heathen  folk  about  it. 
Barnabas    Shaw's  long    ministry  in   Cape   Town  was   devoted 


84  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

chiefly    to    the    coloured   people ;     he   toiled    in   their   interest 
unweariedly. 

The  Emancipation  Act  of  1833,  which  revolutionised  the  West 
Indies,  profoundly  disturbed  South  African  affairs  also.  Thirty- 
nine  thousand  slaves  were  liberated  at  a  stroke — a  crisis  exposing 
society  to  the  gravest  perils  :  happily  their  Christianization  had 
so  far  advanced  that  the  transition  was  made  quietly  and  in  good 
order  ;  with  comparatively  little  trouble,  they  were  absorbed  in 
the  general  working  population.  The  Boer  proprietors,  however, 
bitterly  resented  the  enfranchisement.  Being  badly  used  by  the 
Government  in  the  payment  of  compensation,  10,000  of  them 
made  the  "  Great  Trek  "  northwards  across  the  Orange  River, 
to  escape  British  control.  This  separation  (1836-38)  has  affected 
the  whole  subsequent  history  of  South  Africa.  Two  opposite 
polities  were  set  up  ;  two  rival  powers  were  henceforth  struggling, 
more  or  less  openly,  for  ascendency.  For  the  time,  Methodism 
suffered  little  from  the  Boer  movement. 

Barnabas  Shaw  was  succeeded  in  the  Chairmanship  by  Thomas 
Laidman  Hodgson  (1837-59  :  comp.  pp.  92,  93),  under  whose  genial 
influence  our  position  in  Cape  Town  was  greatly  strengthened. 
At  the  date  of  Shaw's  death,  in  1857,  the  number  of  Circuits  in 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  District  was  10 — 4  of  these  in  Namaqua- 
land — of  missionaries  11,  and  of  Church-members  1,301. 
«■  «  «  «  « 

In  the  eastern  direction  the  main  development  of  the  Colony, 
and  of  the  Mission,  took  place.  Eastwards  of  the  Colony  there 
stretched  a  fertile  and  wholesome  region  known  as  the  Zuurveld 
(later,  Albany),  then  unoccupied  save  for  an  occasional  Dutch 
farmer,  but  exposed  to  the  raids  of  the  Ama-Xosa  Kafirs  who 
lived  across  the  Great  Fish  River.  Lord  Charles  Somerset  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  planting  this  vacant  land  with  British  settlers, 
who  might  shield  the  Colony  from  the  native  marauders  and  add 
to  its  resources.  His  plan  was  adopted  by  Parliament,  and 
carefully  worked  out.  At  that  period  the  Mother  Country  was 
passing  through  the  economic  troubles  which  followed  the  close 
of  the  Great  War  ;  and  on  the  publication  of  the  proposals  for 
the  Albany  settlement,  90,000  candidates  offered  themselves  !* 
Out  of  these  4,000  were  selected,  who  formed  a  remarkably  fine 
body  of  emigrants.     The  chosen  families  were  grouped  in  parties, 

♦  The  Government  prospectus  had  judiciously  omitted  all  reference 
to  Kafir  hostility.  It  was  not  until  they  had  landed,  and  received 
instructions  never  to  go  out  to  plough  without  carrying  a  gun,  that  the 
settlers  suspected  the  military  object  they  were  to  serve. 


SOUTH  AFRICA  AND  THE  TWO  SHAWS  85 

with  a  recognised  captain  and  a  distinct  location  in  the  new 
colony  assigned  to  each.  The  larger  parties  were  allowed  to 
choose  their  own  chaplain  from  any  respectable  denomination. 

The  London  party  contained  a  number  of  Methodists,  through 
whose  injfluence  the  choice  of  minister  was  referred  to  the 
Wesleyan  Missionary  Committee, — a  decision  resulting  in  the 
appointment  of  William  Shaw  (1820).  William  Shaw  (unrelated 
by  blood  to  Barnabas)  was  a  soldier's  son — a  capable,  intelligent, 
well-set-up  young  man  of  twenty-one,  already  married  and  the 
father  of  two  children.  He  was  a  Local  Preacher  and  a  candidate 
for  missionary  service,  dechned  previously  on  account  of  his 
family  ties.  In  this  young  emigrants'  chaplain  the  master-builder 
of  South  African  Methodism  had  come  upon  the  scene.  William 
Shaw  was  a  born  leader  and  organizer,  possessing  "  the  sagacity 
of  the  statesman,  without  the  craft  of  the  diplomatist."  Colonists 
and  natives  alike  learnt  to  revere  him  ;  "  successive  Governors 
consulted  him  as  one  on  whose  sound  judgment  and  accurate 
knowledge  they  could  always  rely."  For  long  WilUam  Shaw  was 
the  most  influential  Christian  minister  in  British  South  Africa.* 

The  emigrant  party  to  which  Shaw  was  attached,  were  settled 
at  Salem  ;  but  his  Circuit  included  all  the  encampments.  He 
sought  out  the  settlers  in  distant  and  hazardous  journeys  ;  his 
ministry  was  welcomed  by  men  of  every  class,  and  bore  abundant 
fruit.  Soon  a  stout  band  of  lay  preachers  was  enlisted  in  his  aid  ; 
commodious  chapels  sprang  up  in  the  new  townships,  and  Metho- 
dist ministrations  spread  throughout  Albany.  Amongst  the 
colonists  were  a  number  of  Methodists  who  had  read  at  home 
Barnabas  Shaw's  racy  letters  in  the  Missionary  Notices,  and  had 
come  out  with  the  hope  of  aiding  in  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  ; 
these  proved  material  ready  to  William  Shaw's  hand.  His  genius 
appeared  greater  in  nothing  than  in  his  power  to  attract  and 
inspire  helpers  for  every  kind  of  religious  work.  John  AyUfif, 
William  Shepstone,  Richard  Haddy,  Joseph  and  Henry  Tindall, 
John    A.    Bailie  {see  p.  83),  came  of   the  Albany  stock ;    also 

*  The  authorities  at  home  deserve  their  meed  of  praise  for  William 
Shaw's  success  ;  they  knew  a  strong  man  when  they  saw  him,  however 
young  he  might  be.  Shaw  took  care  to  advise  the  Missionary  Com- 
mittee of  his  movements  and  plans,  and  secured  their  consent  for  every 
step.  He  sent  them  in  his  letters  well-sifted  facts  and  well-weighed 
judgments,  and  gave  evidence  of  administrative  power  and  jealous 
regard  to  economy.  He  secured  accordingly  the  absolute  confidence 
of  the  Mission  House,  which  was  prepared  to  give  him  carte  blanche, 
when  the  time  came  to  advance.  It  was  able  to  back  a  successful  man 
in  this  way  upon  a  rising  income,     {See  p.  212.) 


86  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Thomas  Jenkins,  whose  career  amongst  the  Pondos  deserves  a 
volume  to  itself  {see  p.  91)  ;  and  Henry  H.  Dugmore,  the  author 
of  more  than  a  hundred  compositions  in  the  Kafir  Hymnbook ; 
with  other  zealous  labourers  in  the  lay  and  ministerial 
ranks. 

Grahamstown  was  at  that  time  a  military  frontier-post  on  the 
Kaffrarian  border  ;  William  Shaw  was  welcomed  there  by  Ser- 
geant-Majors Price  and  Lucas,  who  had  been  brought  to  God 
under  Kendrick's  preaching  in  Cape  Town.  These  supplied  the 
nucleus  of  a  congregation  and  Society,  which  grew  with  the  growth 
of  the  town.  In  due  time  Shaw  made  Grahamstown,  raised  to 
be  the  capital  of  the  Province,  his  headquarters  and  the  centre 
of  Methodism  in  the  country.  So  completely  had  Grahamstown 
grown  up  under  his  pastoral  care,  that  he  remarked  on  one  oc- 
casion :  "  There  is  not  a  house  in  that  town  in  which  I  have  not 
had  the  opportunity  of  offering  prayer."  In  1837  Methodist  work 
in  Grahamstown  culminated  in  a  great  descent  of  spiritual  power 
on  the  community  ;  Mrs.  Shaw  writes  at  that  time  :  "  Such  a 
blessed  revival  of  religion  we  never  expected  to  see.  The  Lord 
is  saving  sinners  by  whole  families  .  .  .  the  whole  town  is 
astonished." 

Soon  after  this,  the  exodus  of  the  Boers  {see  p.  84)  left  large 
agricultural  areas  vacant  between  Albany  and  Cape  Town. 
These  properties  were  in  many  instances  bought  up  by  Albany 
Methodists,  who  thus  spread  their  Church's  influence  over  the 
central  part  of  the  Colony.  By  the  time  William  Shaw  retired 
from  South  Africa,  in  1856,  Grahamstown  had  become  the  head  of 
a  colonial  and  missionary  organization — the  "  Albany,  Kaffraria, 
and  Bechuana  District  " — which  extended  far  across  the  Orange 
River  northwards,  and  north-eastwards  to  the  borders  of  Natal. 
In  this  vast  field,  although  our  work  just  then  was  greatly  de- 
pressed {see  p.  91),  nearly  30  Missionaries  were  employed,  and 
more  than  3,600  souls  (English  and  Native)  were  united  in  Church 
fellowship.  A  solid  foundation  had  been  laid  for  the  Methodism 
of  South  Africa. 

William,  like  Barnabas  Shaw,  regarded  himself  above  every- 
thing else  as  a  missionary  to  the  heathen.  Steadily  and  skilfully 
he  directed  the  energies  of  his  Colonial  Churches  toward  this 
object.  The  native  peoples  in  and  around  the  Colony  included 
Hottentots,  to  whom  the  Namaquas  of  the  north-west  were 
akin  {see  p.  80)  ;  Kafirs  from  beyond  the  Great  Fish  River, 
occupjdng  the  country  between  the  Drakensberg  mountains  and 
the   sea ;     Bechuanas,   belonging  with  the   Kafirs  to  the  great 


SOUTH  AFRICA  AND  THE  TWO  SHAWS         87 

Bantu  stock,  and  dwelling  to  the  west  of  the  Drakensberg  ;  and 
Fingos,  a  nation  made  up  from  remnants  of  tribes  of  various 
origin,  who  in  large  numbers  took  refuge  in  the  Colony,  and 
outside  of  it  were  in  servitude  to  Kafir  masters.  Converts  from 
these  various  races  were  received  and  provided  for  in  the  Colonial 
Churches,  In  course  of  time  special  institutions  were  founded 
for  their  benefit.  Two  industrial  farm-schools  were  established — 
the  first  near  Salem,  for  training  farmers  and  schoolmasters 
amongst  the  Fingos  and  Kafirs  ;  the  second  at  Haslope  Hills  on 
the  northern  border  of  the  Colony,  where  emancipated  slaves 
were  gathered.  These  establishments  proved  successful  economi- 
cally as  well  as  religiously,  and  earned  public  commendation. 

But  William  Shaw's  chief  service  to  South  Africa  has  still  to  be 
described.  From  the  first  his  heart  went  out  toward  the  heathen 
hinterland.  A  few  months  after  his  arrival  he  writes  home  from 
Salem  :  "  This  station  will  be  the  key  to  Kafirland.  ...  I  hope  the 
recent  turbulent  spirit  of  the  people  will  soon  subside,  and  then 
should  wish  to  see  a  Wesleyan  Missionary  ready  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  opportunity.  .  .  .  The  time  might  soon  follow,  when 
you  would  see  on  your  lists  stations  among  the  various  tribes 
of  people  between  us  and  Delagoa  Bay.  .  .  .  With  the  exception 
of  Latakoo*  .  .  .  there  is  not  a  single  Missionary  Station  between 
my  residence  and  the  northern  extremity  of  the  Red  Sea  !  " 
Then  Africa  was  the  Dark  Continent  indeed  !  Shaw  conceived 
the  plan  of  a  chain  of  stations  stretching  from  the  Colony  along 
the  coast-country  of  Kaffraria  right  through  to  Natal.  "  His 
behef  was  that  a  number  of  Christian  fortresses,  within  easy 
distance  of  each  other,  would  enable  peaceable  excursions  to  be 
made  into  the  surrounding  heathenism."  This  vision  he  lived 
to  realise. 

Shaw  was  officially  the  chaplain  of  the  Salem  settlement ;  and 
the  Cape  Governor  would  have  kept  him  to  his  duties  there. 
The  Albany  colony  had  been  designed  to  serve  as  a  bufier  to  the 
English  Province,  fending  off  the  predatory  Kafirs  ;  this  object, 
the  Government  held,  would  be  best  served  by  drawing  a  cordon 
along  the  frontier  and  avoiding  all  communication — a  policy 
which  meant  the  prohibition  of  missions.  This  veto  was,  however, 
soon  removed  ;  and  in  1823  William  Shaw  was  able  to  take  his 
first  journey  of  exploration. 

The  Kafirs  were  altogether  a  more  vigorous  and  capable  folk 
than  the  Namaquas  of  the  western  country  {see  pp.  180-83).    While 

*  More  correctly,  Kuruman,  the  L.M.S.  Station  where  Robert  Moffat 
laboured  for  forty  years  among  the  Bechuanas. 


88  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

their  chief  substance  was  in  cattle,  they  had  risen  to  the  agri- 
cultural stage,  and  were  masters  of  simple  tools  and  weapons 
of  wrought  iron.  They  raised  corn  and  maize,  and  their  fields 
bound  them  to  fixed  domiciles.  The  climate  was  more  genial, 
and  the  population  denser  than  on  the  western  coast.  But  in- 
cessant wars  decimated  and  impoverished  the  tribes,  while  the 
universal  tyranny  of  witchcraft  made  life  fearful  and  insecure. 

The  Ama-Xosa  Kafirs,  the  eastern  neighbours  of  Albany,  were 
divided  into  the  Gaikas,  the  inland  hill-people,  and  the  Gcalekas 
dwelling  along  the  coast.  Beyond  these  latter  were  ranged  the 
Tembus  ;  beyond  these  again,  the  Pondos  ;  still  further  north- 
east, the  Zulus  ;  while  north  of  the  Zulus  lay  Swaziland.  The 
L.M.S.  was  at  work  amongst  the  Gaikas  ;  Shaw  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  Gcalekas.  Accompanied  by  William  Shepstone  and 
an  interpreter,  in  the  spring  of  1823  he  travelled  on  horseback 
a  hundred  miles  east  from  Grahamstown,  reaching  the  kraal  of 
Pato,  chief  of  a  Gcaleka  clan,  with  whom  he  arranged  lor  planting 
a  mission  amongst  his  people.  He  returned  to  set  the  under- 
taking on  foot.  The  plan  was  stoutly  opposed  by  his  colonial 
friends,  alarmed  by  its  dangers  and  smarting,  besides,  under  a 
recent  Kafir  inroad.  He  hesitated  lor  a  while,  until — as  in  the 
case  of  his  namesake  Barnabas  (p.  79) — the  issue  was  decided 
by  Mrs.  Shaw,  who  said  to  him :  "  You  have  long  prayed  for  this 
opening  ;  you  stand  pledged  to  the  chiefs.  The  conduct  of  the 
natives  only  shows  how  much  they  need  the  Gospel.  We  shall 
be  under  the  Divine  protection.  Let  us  go,  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  !  " 

Leaving  others  in  charge  at  Salem  and  Grahamstown,  Shaw 
and  Shepstone  with  their  families,  accompanied  by  native  drivers 
and  interpreters,  set  out  for  Pato's  town,  making  their  way 
through  forests  and  over  fords  hitherto  untracked  by  waggon- 
wheels.  Accustomed  to  be  treated  as  outlaws  and  visited  only 
by  punitive  expeditions  or  patrols  in  pursuit  of  stolen  cattle,  the 
Kafirs  were  amazed  to  see  white  men  come  to  them  in  peaceful 
guise,  trusting  not  only  their  own  lives  but  their  wives  and 
children  to  those  who  had  been  their  fiercest  enemies,  and  to 
learn  that  they  did  this  for  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ  and  of  Kafir 
souls  !     A  profound  impression  was  made  on  the  native  mind. 

Pato  never  became  a  Christian,  though  for  long  he  befriended 
the  Mission.  But  his  younger  brother,  Kama,  who  became  chief 
of  the  Christian  part  of  the  tribe,  proved  a  noble  and  exemplary 
Kafir  Christian.  For  eleven  years  (1838-49)  Kama's  people  were 
left  without  a  pastor  ;    and  he  served  them,  like  Melchizedek, 


SOUTH  AFRICA  AND  THE  TWO  SHAWS  89 

for  priest  as  well  as  king.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  reported 
a  well-disciplined  Society  of  fifty  members.  "  When  God's  word 
came  to  Kama,"  they  said,  "  he  held  out  his  hand,  and  the  word 
fell  right  into  the  middle  of  it ;  and  he  has  held  it  fast  ever  since." 
This  first  in  William  Shaw's  chain  of  Kafir  stations  was  called 
Wesleyville,  and  worthily  sustained  the  name.  Three  times 
Wesleyville  was  demolished  in  the  Kafir  wars  :  on  the  third 
demolition  it  was  not  rebuilt ;  for  the  decimated  Ama-Xosas 
had  migrated,  and  their  land  was  assigned  to  British  settlers. 

In  a  couple  of  years  Shaw  was  able  to  advance  from  Wesley- 
ville to  the  town  of  the  powerful  chief  Ndlambe,  where  he  fixed 
his  second  station,  40  miles  east  of  Pato's  town,  naming  the  new 
post  Mount  Coke.  Said  the  aged  and  blind  Ndlambe,  on  the 
missionary's  coming  :  "  Like  wolves  and  dogs  we  have  been  hid 
in  dark  places  ;  but  now  we  are  called  men,  and  see  the  light. 
A  hundred  oxen  have  been  offered  for  my  head  ;  and  now  I  am 
prayed  for  !  I  never  expected  to  see  this  !  "  Twice  Mount 
Coke  was  destroyed  ;  after  its  second  rebuilding,  in  1847,  the 
station  became  very  prosperous.  It  was  here  that  John  W. 
Appleyard,  with  indomitable  patience,  produced  his  Kafir  gram- 
mar and  school-books,  finally  his  great  translation  of  the  Bible. 

The  next  step  forward  brought  the  Mission  70  miles  beyond 
Mount  Coke  northwards  to  the  seat  of  Hintza,  paramount  chie 
of  the  Gcalekas,  known  as  the  "  Great  Bull  "  ;  Butterworth  was 
its  Methodist  name.  William  J.  Shrewsbury,  the  victim  of  the 
Barbados  riot  of  1823  {see  p.  55),  was  posted  here  ;  all  his 
courage  and  experience  were  in  requisition.  Hintza  patronised 
the  Mission,  but  remained  an  obstinate  heathen — capricious  and 
violent  besides.  Hearing  of  the  baptism  of  some  Fingo  slaves, 
he  shouted  in  rage  :  "  How  dare  Ayliff  throw  water  on  my  dogs  1 
I  will  make  him  take  it  off,  and  then  I  will  kill  them  !  "  Amongst 
the  down-trodden  Fingos  round  Butterworth  the  Gospel  tri- 
umphed. In  1835,  after  the  first  Kafir  war,  they  were  liberated 
by  the  Government,  to  the  number  of  16,000.  John  Ayliff  {see 
p.  85)  led  them  from  the  house  of  bondage  to  a  new  home  near 
Fort  Peddie,  Christianized  them,  and  trained  them  into  efficient 
farmers  ;  ultimately  it  came  about,  in  1866,  that  the  once  Fingo 
slaves  were  put  in  possession  of  the  lands  of  their  old  masters. 
Meanwhile  the  Great  Bull  had  fallen,  caught  in  the  net  of  his 
own  treachery ;  his  son  Kreli  played  fast  and  loose  with  Christ- 
ianity, to  his  undoing ;  at  last  in  1904  the  shattered  residue  of 
Hintza's  royal  clan  bowed  the  knee  to  Christ.  Thrice  Butter- 
worth  was   burnt  down  by  the  heathen,  and  thrice  restored. 


90  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Since  the  return  of  the  Fingos  it  has  remained  the  centre  of  a 
wide  and  fruitful  Circuit. 

In  1829  William  Shepstone  {see  p.  88)  was  installed  amongst 
a  tribe  of  Pondos.,  at  a  spot  60  miles  north-east  of  Butterworth 
and  near  the  sea — the  fourth  link  in  Shaw's  "  chain  " — which 
took  the  name  of  Morley.  Depa,  the  chief  of  this  people,  was 
born  of  a  white  woman  who  had  been  shipwrecked  on  the  coast. 
Disturbed  by  the  Zulus,  Depa's  clan  crossed  the  Umtata  River 
westwards,  and  the  Mission  migrated  with  them  to  a  new  Morley. 
Shepstone,  and  subsequently  Samuel  Palmer,  won  good  fruit 
amongst  Depa's  people,  who  were  particularly  susceptible  of 
education.     But  the  war  of  1850  made  havoc  of  this  Mission. 

After  Morley  came  Clarkebury,  fifth  in  the  succession,  founded 
in  1830  and  situated  50  miles  north  of  Butterworth,  in  Tembu- 
land.  Richard  Haddy,  who  had  laboured  amongst  the  Nama- 
quas  {see  p.  85),  took  charge  of  this  station.  Joseph  C.  Warner, 
Haddy's  assistant  and  successor,  acquired  a  perfect  mastery  of 
the  Tembu  dialect,  and  an  extraordinary  influence  over  the  tribe. 
Ultimately  Warner  became  British  Resident  in  Tembuland,  but 
gave  two  able  sons  to  missionary  service.  The  Clarkebury  Cir- 
cuit witnessed  two  martyrdoms  in  its  Mission-staff  :  that  of  a 
Lay  Agent,  named  Rawlins,  killed  by  a  savage  horde  whose  path 
he  crossed  in  travelling  ;  and  of  James  Stewart  Thomas,  Super- 
intendent in  1856,  who  was  struck  down  at  night,  probably  by 
mistake,  in  a  native  mel6e  which  he  was  trying  to  stop. 

Sixth  in  the  chain,  and  simultaneously  with  Clarkebury,  Bunt- 
ingville  was  occupied,  at  a  point  70  miles  north  of  Morley,  in  the 
midst  of  another  and  larger  division  of  the  Pondos.  The  chief 
of  this  tribe  was  Faku — a  handsome  fellow,  who  counted  as  a 
Kafir  wit.  Harassed  by  the  Zulus,  Faku  said  to  Mr.  Shaw  on 
his  first  visit :  "  Make  haste,  and  let  a  missionary  come.  You 
talk  of  peace  :  it  is  good  !  We  are  tired  of  war — tired  of  prowling 
about  like  wild  beasts,  or  being  hunted  like  game  !  "  Evidently 
a  preparation  for  the  Gospel  had  been  going  on  here. 

At  Buntingville,  in  1830,  William  B.  Boyce  began  his  famous 
missionary  course  {see  pp.  31,  142).  He  discovered  the  Euphonic 
Concord,  which  supplied  the  missing  clue  to  the  structure  of 
the  Kafir  dialects,  and  by  his  Grammar,  published  in  1833,  set  the 
study  of  the  language  on  a  scientific  basis. 

In  1844,  when  the  British  Colony  of  Natal  had  been  established, 
and  a  check  thus  given  to  Zulu  ravages,  Faku  moved  40  miles 
north-eastwards,  across  the  St.  John  River ;  and  the  Mission 
was  consequently  extended  to  Palmerton — as  the  new  station 


SOUTH  AFRICA  AND  THE  TWO  SHAWS         91 

was  called,  after  Samuel  Palmer  [see  p.  90),  who  had  recently 
died  much  lamented. 

Boyce's  successor  was  Thomas  Jenkins,  a  man  of  rare  sincerity 
and  selflessness,  of  ready  speech  and  versatile  dexterity,  under 
whose  training  the  Pondos  marvellously  improved.  Visiting  him 
in  1855,  William  Shaw  testifies  :  "  I  do  not  know  one  missionary 
station  belonging  to  any  Society,  in  which  neatness,  comfort,  and 
good  order  are  equal  to  what  I  witnessed  at  Palmerton."  Though 
Faku  never  accepted  baptism,  there  was  a  hearty  friendship 
between  Mr.  Jenkins  and  himself  ;  he  would  advise  a  new  mis- 
sionary coming  on  the  ground  :  "  You  must  say  exactly  what 
Jenkins  says,  and  do  exactly  what  Jenkins  does  !  " 

With  the  planting  of  Bunting ville  William  Shaw's  chain  of 
Stations  was  complete,  only  wanting  its  northern  terminus  {see 
pp.  87,  93)  in  Natal.  It  was  well  that  this  line  of  forts  had  been 
constructed  quickly  in  days  of  peace.  Soon  the  tide  of  war,  in 
three  successive  floods,  swept  over  the  land  ;  but  the  chain  was 
never  destroyed  ;  these  stations  reappeared  when  the  flood  passed, 
and  furnished  rallying  centres  for  the  Church  and  civilisation. 
They  were  the  backbone  of  Methodism  in  Kafirland. 

The  years  running  from  1823-33  were  a  time  of  visitation  for 
the  South  African  peoples  ;  Kaffraria  seemed  ready  to  stretch 
out  her  hands  to  God.  Large  assemblies  flocked  round  the 
missionaries  ;  wild  barbarians  bowed  to  the  yoke  of  Christ ; 
cattle-raiding  was  stopped,  and  the  whole  moral  tone  of  the 
Kafir  tribes  began  to  rise.  Alas,  the  blossom  of  that  spring-time 
was  dashed  ere  it  came  to  fruit.  The  series  of  wars  recurring 
through  the  years  1834-52  scattered  the  half -taught  congrega- 
tions, destroyed  mission-property  and  broke  up  the  mission-staff. 
It  ruined  some  of  the  most  promising  Kafir  tribes,  and  made  the 
rest  sullen  and  suspicious  ;  for  the  time,  it  extinguished  the 
missionary  zeal  of  the  colonists.  As  the  long  storm  passed  over 
and  the  missionaries  began  to  recover  heart,  there  came  the  chill 
of  diminished  support  from  England  {see  p.  212),  just  when 
increased  help  was  needed  for  the  work  of  restoration.  The 
murder  of  Mr.  Thomas  at  Clarkebury  {see  p.  90)  put  a  climax 
on  the  misfortunes  of  the  Mission.  At  this  crisis  the  veteran 
leader,  William  Shaw,  was  compelled  to  quit  the  field  (1856).* 

But  the  darkest  hour  brings  in  the  dawn.     Thomas's  death 

*  Mr,  Shaw  spent  some  ten  years  happily  in  English  Circuits  after 
his  return  home.  He  was  President  of  the  British  Conference  in  1 865 ,  and 
died  in  1872.  He  had  also  sojourned  in  England  earlier,  for  a  period 
of  three  years,  from  1833-36. 


92  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

touched  British  sympathy  ;  in  1857  a  reinforcement  of  four  new- 
missionaries  arrived.  In  the  same  year  the  pride  of  the  Ama- 
Xosa  Kafirs  was  broken  through  a  suicidal  mania  of  superstition, 
which  led  them  to  slaughter  their  cattle  and  leave  their  fields 
unsown.  Almost  in  a  day  that  proud  people  sank  from  afiluence 
to  destitution  ;  "  they  had  rejected  the  Gospel,  and  judgment 
fell  upon  them,  with  a  shock  that  was  felt  from  one  end  of 
Kaffraria  to  the  other."  At  the  same  date  Sir  George  Grey 
assumed  the  Governorship  of  the  Colony,  inaugurating  a  wiser 
native  policy  :  missionary  enterprise  was  encouraged,  industrial 
training  promoted  ;  the  Kafirs  responded  to  considerate  treat- 
ment. From  this  epoch  our  missions  in  the  eastern  district  re- 
vived. The  reconstruction  took  place  upon  William  Shaw's  un- 
destroyed  foundations,  under  the  Chairmanship  of  his  son-in-law, 
William  Impey.  The  stations  occupied  in  the  course  of  the 
renewed  advance  were  developed  as  branches  and  side-tracks 
along  the  line  of  occupation  which  William  Shaw  had  marked 
out  thirty  years  earlier. 


Barnabas  Shaw  had  worked  along  the  western  coast,  William 
along  the  eastern.  By  a  third  line  of  invasion,  our  Mission  pushed 
northwards  from  Cape  Colony  into  the  interior  table-land. 
Shortly  before  William  Shaw  crossed  the  Great  Fish  River  into 
the  lowlands  east  of  the  Drakensberg,  Stephen  Kay,  exploring 
from  the  Cape,  came  into  contact  with  the  Bechuanas  to  the 
north-west  of  that  range  ;  he  returned,  with  broken  health,  in 
1 82 1.  In  the  same  year  Samuel  Broadbent  and  his  wife  travelled 
hither  across  the  desert  from  Lilyfontein  in  the  west  {see  p.  81), 
enduring  the  severest  hardships  ;  they  were  joined  on  the  way  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hodgson  {see  p.  83)  coming  from  the  south.  On 
crossing  the  Vaal  River,  the  missionary  party  came  unexpectedly 
upon  the  Baralong  (aBechuana  tribe),  with  their  chief  Sifonello, 
to  whom  they  had  been  directed,  and  found  them  fleeing  before 
the  Mantatees — themselves  driven  southwards  by  the  still  fiercer 
Matabele  {see  p.  209).  The  time  seemed  unfavourable  ;  but 
Broadbent  and  Hodgson  persevered,  and  followed  the  friendly 
Baralong  to  Makwassi,  near  the  present  town  of  Klerksdorp 
(Transvaal),  where  they  now  settled.  Here  they  were  joined  by 
Peter  Links,  the  Namaqua  evangelist  {see  p.  82),  who  had  come 
from  the  far  west  missioning  the  Korannas,  a  Hottentot  tribe 
kindred  to  his  own. 

The  Baralong  were  a  gentler  people  than  the  Kafirs,  and  more 


SOUTH  AFRICA  AND  THE  TWO  SHAWS         93 

readily  accepted  the  Gospel.  The  missionaries  initiated  them 
into  wheat-growing  ;  their  delight  with  the  jSrst  plough  was 
unbounded  :  "  See  how  the  thing  tears  up  the  ground  with  its 
mouth,"  they  said  ;  "  it  is  of  more  value  than  five  wives  I  "*  A 
yet  greater  boon  was  the  art  of  digging  wells,  which  the  mission- 
aries taught  them — an  accomplishment  which  greatly  diminished 
the  prestige  of  the  "  rain-making  "  wizards. 

Broadbent  retreated  in  1825  through  physical  breakdown  ; 
and  in  1829  Hodgson  left  Bechuanaland  through  failure  of  his 
wife's  health, — not  before  he  had  planted  the  Gospel  among  the 
(Hottentot)  Griquas  at  Boetsap,  fifty  miles  east  of  the  Baralong. 
These  two  were  succeeded  by  James  Archbell  [see  p.  82)  and  John 
Edwards — the  latter  a  man  of  the  highest  competence — under 
whom  the  work,  so  well  begun,  was  well  continued. 

In  1825  the  Baralong  were  expelled  from  their  new  home  at 
Makwassi.  They  found  a  refuge  at  Plaatberg,  not  far  from  (the 
later)  Kimberley.  Once  more  migration  was  forced  upon  this 
hard-driven  people — this  time  through  scarcity  of  water  ;  Arch- 
bell  and  Edwards,  like  another  Moses  and  Aaron,  led  the  tribe 
and  their  allies — 12,000  strong — a  ten  days'  journey,  with  flocks 
and  herds,  across  the  veldt  to  Thaba  'Nchu  (Orange  River  State), 
a  well-chosen  spot,  where  at  last  they  found  rest  from  their 
wanderings.  Thaba  'Nchu  became  the  centre  of  a  widely 
extended  and  spiritually  fruitful  mission  amongst  Bechuanas, 
Griquas,  Mantatees,  and  other  neighbouring  tribes.  A  German 
scientist  passing  through  the  district  some  time  later,  exclaimed 
as  he  viewed  the  native  Churches  :  "  Why,  this  is  primitive 
Christianity  !  this  is  as  it  was  on  the  day  of  Pentecost !  I  never 
saw  the  like  before  1  "  So  mightily  grew  the  word  of  God,  and 
prevailed.  The  years  of  gloom  in  Kaffraria  were,  for  the  most 
part,  years  of  peace  and  progress  in  Bechuanaland.  This  land 
had  its  dark  days  to  come  {see  pp.  204-206). 

The  Bechuana  District  assumed  a  separate  status  in  1836. 
From  1837-51  it  was  presided  over  by  James  Cameron,  a  Scotch- 
man worthy  of  his  Covenanting  name.  From  1852-63  it  was 
re-united  with  the  Albany  and  Kaffraria  District. 

*  nn  *  *  * 

Natal  was  embraced  in  William  Shaw's  original  plans  ;  the 
Missionary  Society  contemplated  its  occupation  so  early  as  1829, 

*  Field-work  was  a  servile  and  feminine  occupation  in  the  eyes  of 
Kafirs  and  Bechuanas  ;  fighting,  hunting,  and  cattle-tending  were 
the  proper  business  of  the  man.  This  sentiment  was  a  factor  in  South 
African  polygamy. 


94  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

while  the  region  was  purely  Zulu  territory.  The  first  missionary 
appointment,  however,  was  not  made  until  1841.  By  this  time 
English  traders  had  settled  at  the  port  of  Durban,  and  Dutch 
farmers  were  filtering  into  the  district  through  the  mountains  on 
the  west.  The  Boers  speedily  came  into  conflict  with  the  natives, 
and  a  detachment  of  British  troops  was  sent  to  keep  order  in 
1842.  With  them  travelled  the  missionary  Archbell  (p.  82),  who 
was  on  excellent  terms  with  the  Dutch.  But  these  latter  could 
not  brook  the  presence  of  the  British  force  ;  in  the  struggle  that 
ensued  they  were  overpowered,  and  Natal  was  proclaimed  a  British 
colony. 

Archbell  was  joined  by  William  C.  Holden,  who  here  began  his 
long  and  distinguished  ministry,  devoting  himself  mainly  to 
evangelizing  the  natives  round  Durban.  James  Allison  did  noble 
work  among  the  Swazis  to  the  north-west.  He  brought  down 
to  the  Colony  a  company  of  refugees,  planting  them  at  Indaleni. 
This  Swazi  settlement  has  produced  a  number  of  the  finest 
characters  and  ablest  native  helpers  Methodism  has  known  in 
South  Africa.  The  Natal  District  was  detached  from  Kaffraria 
in  1850,  with  Horatio  Pearse  for  its  Chairman. 

The  Methodist  Mission  was  the  first  to  enter  Natal ;  for  many 
years  the  humble  Wesleyan  Chapels  of  Durban  and  Maritzburg 
furnished  the  only  houses  of  worship  for  English  residents.  A 
large  influx  of  immigrants  entered  the  Colony  in  1849-51,  in- 
cluding a  goodly  contingent  of  Methodists,  whose  influence  has 
been  a  chief  factor  in  the  building  up  of  the  Natalian  Church. 
The  period  we  are  engaged  upon  closed  with  a  rich  outpouring  of 
the  Spirit  of  God  at  Maritzburg  in  1857,  resembling  that  witnessed 
at  Grahamstown  twenty  years  earlier  (p.  86),  which  formed  a 
spiritual  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Colony. 


CHAPTER  Vin 

The  Islands  of  the  South  Seas 

The  Voyages  of  Captain  James  Cook  (1768-79)  first  supplied  a 
definite  map  of  Oceania  and  revealed  the  condition  of  its  peoples. 
The  islanders  attracted  the  missionary  sympathies  born  of  the 
Evangelical  movement ;  the  spirit  of  Christian  adventure,  then 
running  so  high,  found  in  Polynesia  an  inviting  field.     The  London 


THE  ISLANDS  OF  THE  SOUTH  SEAS  95 

Missionary  Society  {see  p.  100)  sent  out  its  first  expedition  (1797) 
to  the  South  Sea  Islands,  with  tragic  and  yet  glorious  results. 

The  work  of  Methodism  in  Polynesia  commenced  thirty  years 
later,  and  grew  out  of  the  mission  to  the  colonists  of  New  South 
Wales  {see  p.  47)  ;  Australia  furnished  the  basis  for  Methodist 
operations  in  the  Pacific.  Working  from  this  centre,  our  mission- 
aries sought  the  Australian  Aborigines,  the  Maoris  of  New  Zea- 
land, the  Friendly  Islanders,  with  their  kinsmen  the  Samoans, 
and  the  Fijians. 

Australia  and  Tasmania 

We  must  begin  with  an  acknowledgment  of  failure.  The 
indigenous  Australians  are  the  most  degraded  of  human  creatures, 
and  amongst  the  worst-used.  Driven  from  their  haunts  by  the 
convict-colonists,  half-starved  and  plied  with  intoxicants,  initiated 
into  undreamed-of  vices,  shot  down  when  troublesome  like  dan- 
gerous beasts,  their  misery  in  the  early  colonial  times  can  never 
be  told.  They  have  disappeared  from  the  more  cultivated  parts 
of  the  continent,  but  still  roam  through  its  central  and  northern 
regions  ;  the  hope  of  their  salvation  is  not  wholly  abandoned. 
Efforts  were  made  almost  from  the  beginning  by  humane  Govern- 
ors and  Chaplains  to  win  these  hapless  tribes  ;  but  lack  of  means 
and  appliances,  or  of  patience  and  skill  in  the  agents  employed, 
above  all  the  baneful  influence  of  vicious  colonists,  doomed  these 
attempts  to  failure.  Individuals  and  small  groups  have  been 
converted  ;  but  no  considerable  body  of  the  aborigines  has  been 
touched  by  Christianity  or  education  ;  the  Australian  proper 
remains  an  untamable  nomad,  at  the  lowest  level  of  intelligence 
and  of  subsistence.  The  most  sustained  effort  on  our  part  for 
the  salvation  of  the  mainland  natives  was  made  by  Francis  Tuck- 
field  (1836-48) — "  an  able,  zealous,  and  indefatigable  missionary  " 
— who  occupied  a  station  amongst  them  named  Buntingdale, 
in  the  Colony  of  Victoria.  For  a  time  he  made  encouraging  progress, 
but  only  to  see  his  people  decrease  with  frightful  rapidity  through 
contact  with  the  colonists,  until  the  remnant  of  them  removed 
out  of  reach. 

In  Tasmania  a  Methodist  settler  of  the  name  of  Robinson  set 
himself  to  seek  and  save  the  aborigines,  and  gained  such  influence 
with  them  that  he  was  called  "  the  Conciliator."  But  his  mis- 
sion terminated  in  1835,  when  the  Government,  after  fruitless 
expenditure  of  money  and  military  effort,  succeeded  by  Robinson's 
help  in  getting  the  bulk  of  the  savages  together  and  deporting 
them  to  Flinders  Island,  where  the  last  of  the  race  died  in  1877 
(comp.  pp.  48,  143,  145). 


96  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

New  Zealand 

The  Maoris  are  a  comparatively  vigorous  and  intelligent  people. 
Samuel  Marsden,  the  philanthropic  Sydney  chaplain  {see  p.  46), 
in  1 814  sent  a  couple  of  artisan  missionaries  to  the  Bay  of  Islands 
(in  the  North  Island)  to  pave  the  way  for  Christianity.  The 
Methodist  Missionary  Samuel  Leigh  {see  p.  47)  visited  this  settle- 
ment in  1 81 8,  and  saw  the  need  of  supplying  Christian  teaching, 
as  well  as  Christian  example,  to  the  heathen.  Returning  to 
England  shortly  afterwards,  he  pleaded  the  cause  of  the  Polyne- 
sians, and  offered  himself  for  service  in  New  Zealand.  The 
Missionary  Committee  could  not  promise  the  funds  required  ; 
but  it  allowed  Leigh  to  ask  for  goods,  to  be  used  in  barter  ;  and 
goods  were  sent  to  him  in  quantities  sufficient  to  maintain  the 
New  Zealand  Mission  for  five  years.  He  returned  to  fulfil  his 
heart's  desire. 

Leigh's  visit  to  England  coincided  with  that  of  a  Maori  chief 
named  Hongi,  brought  over  under  the  auspices  of  the  CM.  Society, 
who  made  a  favourable  impression  by  his  fine  presence  and 
dignified  behaviour.  Leigh  interested  himself  greatly  in  Hongi, 
and  rendered  him  all  the  service  in  his  power.  No  sooner  had 
the  Maori  reached  home  than  he  threw  off  his  peaceful  character, 
bartered  for  fire-arms  the  presents  received  in  England,  and  set 
on  foot  a  savage  war  which  lasted  for  five  years.  "  We  must 
observe  our  country's  customs,"  said  Hongi,  replying  to  remon- 
strances ;  "  and  the  blood  of  Hinaki  [the  rival  chief]  was  sweet !  " 

Under  such  conditions,  early  in  1822,  Samuel  Leigh  and  his 
newly-married  wife  arrived  at  New  Zealand.  They  received  a 
warm  welcome  from  the  C.M.S.  Missionaries  and  the  Bay  of 
Islands  natives.  But  access  to  the  neighbouring  heathen  de- 
pended on  Hongi's  good-will,  who  replied  to  the  missionary's 
request :  "  Mr.  Leigh,  I  have  a  grateful  recollection  of  your  kind- 
ness to  me  when  I  was  in  your  country  ;  I  will  not  suffer  a  hand 
to  touch  you — Hongi  has  said  it  !  But,  to  be  plain  with  you, 
since  you  stand  in  the  way  of  our  obtaining  muskets  and  powder, 
we  New  Zealanders  hate  both  your  worship  and  your  God  !  " 
The  one  alleviation  of  the  havoc  wrought  by  this  war  was  the  fact 
that  Hongi's  prisoners,  sent  down  as  slaves  to  the  Bay  of  Islands, 
in  their  misery  yielded  to  the  influence  of  Christian  compassion  ; 
these  men  in  after  years  carried  the  Gospel  far  and  wide  through 
the  country. 

For  a  few  months  Leigh  remained  at  the  CM.  station,  recon- 
noitring the  coast  and  learning  the  language.     James  Stack  came 


THE  ISLANDS  OF  THE  SOUTH  SEAS  97 

to  assist  him  from  New  South  Wales,  along  with  Luke  Wade, 
a  retired  sailor,  who  assisted  as  man-of-all-work.  In  July  the 
little  Methodist  band  established  itself  at  a  lovely  spot  12  miles 
up  the  river  from  Wangaroa  Bay,  which  they  named  Wesleydale. 
Incessant  rains,  falling  before  adequate  shelter  could  be  secured, 
brought  Leigh  to  death's  door  through  fever  ;  this  sickness  left 
in  his  frame  seeds  of  life-long  suffering.  The  war  continued  to 
rage,  teaching  him,  as  he  writes,  "  the  necessity  of  living  above 
the  fear  of  death."  The  miasma  of  European  wickedness  had 
penetrated  to  this  remote  spot,  and  proved  his  worst  hindrance. 
"  What  !  "  shouted  a  chief  one  day,  in  answer  to  Leigh's  appeals, 
"  you  talk  to  me  of  crime  and  cruelty  !  I  have  been  in  New 
South  Wales,  and  witnessed  the  amusements,  the  drunkenness 
and  riot  of  white  men.  They  curse,  they  steal,  they  kill :  go  and 
teach  your  countrymen  your  religion  !  " 

The  natives,  watching  keenly,  saw  another  type  of  life  exhib- 
ited in  the  purity,  gentleness,  and  constant  prayers  of  their  new 
neighbours.  Mrs.  Leigh  induced  the  girls  to  learn  sewing ; 
presents  of  babies'  frocks  made  by  their  hands  checked  infanti- 
cide, through  the  pride  awakened  in  the  mothers  over  their  decor- 
ated offspring.  The  harvest  gathered  from  a  wheat-plot  sown  by 
the  missionaries'  hands,  stirred  respect  and  emulation.  Evidently, 
there  were  tastes  and  capacities  in  these  natures  which  could  be 
wrought  upon  for  good. 

In  August  of  the  next  year  reinforcements  arrived — Nathaniel 
Turner  with  wife  and  maid,  William  White,  and  John  Hobbs. 
Mr.  Marsden  crossed  from  Sydney  with  this  party  ;  he  was  dehghted 
at  the  progress  of  Wesleydale,  but  distressed  at  his  friend's 
physical  condition.  The  latter  he  carried  off  to  the  Colony  for 
medical  treatment ;  and  Leigh,  though  surviving  nearly  thirty 
years,  was  never  permitted  to  return  to  New  Zealand. 

Three  years  longer  the  post  of  Wesleydale  was  held,  with  Turner 
in  command,  the  missionaries  mastering  the  language  while  they 
taught  the  children  and  gathered  occasional  congregations,  under 
constant  alarms,  until  in  January  1827  Hongi's  army  burst  in 
upon  them.  The  mission-famiUes,  including  three  little  children, 
escaped  during  the  pillage,  and  after  a  terrible  march  through 
the  enemy's  country  reached  the  C.M.S.  station.  Wesleydale 
was  wrecked  ;  for  the  present  the  Mission  was  at  an  end.  But 
impressions  had  been  made,  and  seed  sown,  that  could  not  be  lost. 

The  Turners  were  transferred  to  Tonga  {see  p.  100)  ;  Stack, 
along  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hobbs,  ventured  back  to  New  Zealand 
six  months  after  the  fall  of  Wesleydale  ;  White  speedily  rejoined 

G 


98  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

them.  The  new  beginning  was  made  at  Mangungu  in  the  Hoki- 
anga  district,  situated  50  miles  westwards  of  the  Bay  of  Islands 
toward  the  opposite  coast,  where  Patuone  held  sway,  a  chief  who 
had  aided  the  flight  from  Wesleydale.  On  this  spot  the  Gospel 
took  root ;  and  the  work  spread,  slowly  at  first  but  surely,  along 
the  west  coast.*  Hongi  fell  in  battle  in  1828,  and  the  war  ceased. 
In  1 83 1  the  first  Maori  Society  Class  was  formed,  and  a  widespread 
movement  toward  Christianity  took  place  ;  distant  chiefs  peti- 
tioned for  missionary  teachers.  The  Spirit  of  God  was  mani- 
festly at  work,  and  the  prosperity  of  the  mission-stations  afforded 
an  object-lesson  which  could  not  be  mistaken.  Ten  years  earlier 
fire-arms  formed  the  only  acceptable  medium  of  trade  with  the 
natives  ;  now  they  were  bartering  their  muskets  for  blankets  and 
tools.  Schoolbooks  could  not  be  provided  fast  enough  for  the 
demand. 

In  1835  Nathaniel  Turner  was  re-appointed  to  N.Z.,  with 
three  colleagues — this  field  had  for  some  years  constituted  a 
separate  District ;  from  that  time  onwards  conversions  were  fre- 
quent, and  rapid  extension  ensued.  When  in  the  years  1841-42 
the  Bible  Society  made  a  munificent  gift  of  Maori  New  Testa- 
ments to  the  Islands,  the  Wesleyans  obtained  10,000  copies — a 
number  insufficient  for  the  eager  applicants.  Cannibalism  and 
open  idolatry  were  almost  things  of  the  past. 

As  the  condition  of  the  country  improved,  British  immigration 
set  in.  This  was  encouraged  by  the  Home  Government  because 
of  the  suitability  of  the  soil  and  climate  for  English  colonists, 
and  with  a  view  to  overpower  the  lawless  white  adventurers. 
This  influx  multiplied  the  missionaries'  tasks,  and  divided  their 
care  between  the  natives  and  their  fellow-countrymen.  Difficult 
questions  of  government  arose  ;  and  in  1840  the  Maori  chiefs, 
most  of  them  now  Christian  and  acting  under  missionary  guid- 
ance, yielded  the  sovereignty  of  the  islands  by  treaty  to  Queen 
Victoria.  The  land-greed  of  the  settlers  caused  a  long  and  bitter 
struggle  for  native  rights,  in  which  the  Missionary  Society  helped 
the  cause  of  justice.  The  clash  of  alien  modes  of  life  bore  hardly 
on  the  Maori  people,  exposed  both  to  physical  and  moral  diseases 
which  their  constitution  was  ill-adapted  to  meet.  There  is  now 
hope  that  a  considerable  remnant  of  this  fine  race  will  survive. 
Their  decrease  has  been  arrested. 

*  A  friendly  division  was  made  between  the  Anglicans  and  Wes- 
leyans, the  former  undertaking  to  evangehze  the  east  coast  of  the  island 
and  the  latter  the  west.  The  co-operation  of  the  two  Societies  continued 
until  1841. 


THE  ISLANDS  OF  THE  SOUTH  SEAS  99 

However  this  may  prove,  a  marvellous  and  happy  change 
came  about  for  the  Maori  generation  that  witnessed  the  landing 
of  Marsden  and  Leigh  upon  their  shores.  John  Whiteley,  a 
N.Z.  Missionary  for  twenty  years,  thus  writes  in  1854,  con- 
trasting present  with  earUer  scenes  :  "  Then  they  were  either 
constantly  at  war,  or  preparing  for  it ;  now  they  are  quietly 
cultivating  the  soil,  and  with  occasional  exceptions,  arising  out 
of  conflicting  claims  to  the  land,  there  is  universal  peace.  Then 
cannibalism  was  practised  to  a  fearful  extent ;  now  no  such 
atrocity  is  heard  of.  Then  they  were  regarded  as  thieves  and 
liars  ;  now  our  merchants  entrust  them  with  goods  on  credit  to 
the  amount  of  thousands  of  pounds."  But  there  was  another 
side  to  the  shield,  and  he  continues  :  "  Then  they  had  faults 
purely  Maori ;  now  they  have  faults  both  Maori  and  English  .  .  . 
Colonisation  has  produced  excitement  and  industry  ;  also  avarice 
and  dissipation."  In  the  Government,  and  in  the  worthier 
colonists,  the  Maoris  have  had  sincere  friends,  who  seek  to  pro- 
tect them  from  wrong  and  shield  them  from  temptation  ;  there 
are  few  colonies  where  the  relations  between  the  rulers  and  the 
native  people  have  been  upon  the  whole  so  friendly,  and  so  fairly 
conducted,  as  in  New  Zealand. 

At  the  time  of  the  transference  of  the  Maori  Mission  to  the 
Australasian  Conference  (1855),  the  New  Zealand  population  was 
estimated  at  about  90,000  natives  and  26,000  whites.  Of  the 
former,  nine-tenths  were  reputed  to  be  Christians,  belonging  to 
the  Wesleyan,  Anglican,  Lutheran,  and  Romans  communions. 
Three-fourths  of  the  adult  native  population  were  able  to  read, 
and  two-thirds  to  write  their  own  language  correctly.  The 
Methodist  Church-membership  for  the  islands  amounted  to  4,100. 

The  Friendly  Islands 

Twenty  degrees  north  of  New  Zealand,  and  about  200  miles 
apart  in  the  South  Pacific,  lie  the  Friendly  and  Fijian  Islands, 
whose  story  forms  the  most  romantic  chapter  in  the  tale  of 
Methodist  Missions.  The  peoples  inhabiting  these  two  archi- 
pelagoes are  of  different  type  :  both  races  are  tall,  well-built,  and 
active  ;  but  the  Fijian  is  darker  in  colour,  with  a  physiognomy 
of  negroid  cast,  while  the  Friendly  Islander  approximates  to 
the  Malayan.  The  Tongans  of  a  hundred  years  ago  were  the 
"  hardy  Norsemen  "  of  Polynesia,  navigating  their  double  canoes* 
which  seated  sometimes  150  people,  with  consummate  skill 
through  the  stormy  and  reef-strewn  Polynesian  seas.     The  Fijians, 


100  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

on  the  other  hand,  were  poor  sailors  and  had  little  trade,  but 
excelled  in  the  domestic  arts — housebuilding,  cord-plaiting,  and 
pottery.  While  the  religion  of  both  rested  on  the  basis  of  animism 
and  wizardry  common  to  savage  peoples,  the  Tongans  fashioned 
numerous  idols  ;  the  Fijians  had  none.  The  social  life  of  the 
Friendly  Islands  stood  on  a  higher  level — their  name  records  the 
favourable  estimate  formed  of  the  people  by  the  first  English 
navigators  ;  war  amongst  them,  though  frequent,  was  not  in- 
cessant, and  arms  were  laid  aside  in  time  of  peace  ;  cannibalism 
was  here  occasional,  while  in  Fiji  it  was  habitual.  The  two 
peoples  were  useful  to  each  other  and  had  considerable  inter 
course,  the  fierce  Fijians  holding  in  respect  the  talents  of  their 
neighbours. 

The  Friendly  Islands  include  three  small  groups,  Tonga*, 
Vavau,  and  Haabai,  the  two  former  named  from  their  largest 
islands.  As  elsewhere  in  Polynesia,  Christ's  pioneers  were  the 
London  Society's  missionaries,  who  established  themselves  on 
Tonga  in  1 797,  but  were  driven  away  after  three  years  of  pitiable 
suffering  and  ill-usage.  They  left  their  mark  upon  the  native 
memory.  Samuel  Leigh's  appeal  made  to  English  Methodism 
resulted  in  the  sending  of  Walter  Lawry  to  Tonga  {see  p.  47)  in 
1822,  accompanied  by  two  artisan  helpers.  He  was  little  more 
successful  than  his  predecessors  of  the  L.M.S.,  and  was  forced 
to  retreat  at  the  end  of  the  next  year.  Subsequently,  a  couple 
of  L.M.S.  converts  from  Tahiti  settled  in  Nukualofa,  the  capital 
of  Tonga.  Their  preaching,  though  in  broken  Tongese,  proved 
wonderfully  effective  :  they  built  a  church,  gathered  a  congre- 
gation of  300  people,  and  won  the  favour  of  the  King,  Tubou 
(afterwards,  by  baptism,  Josiah).  A  second  attempt  was  made 
by  the  W.M.M.S.  in  1826,  sending  John  Thomas  (from  England) 
and  John  Hutchinson  (from  N.S.W.),  with  their  wives,  who  fixed 
their  station  at  Hihifo,  some  distance  from  the  chief  town  of 
Tonga.  They  fared  at  first  no  better  than  Lawry  before  them. 
A  despairing  letter  addressed  to  the  N.S.W.  District  Synod, 
brought  to  their  help  Nathaniel  and  Mrs.  Turner  (already  seasoned 
in  New  Zealand,  see  p.  97)  and  WilUam  and  Mrs.  Cross,  whose 
arrival  saved  the  situation.  The  newcomers  took  up  their  post 
at  Nukualofa,  where  the  Tahitians  had  prepared  the  way. 

Events  now  took  a  sudden  and  surprising  turn.  Thirty  years 
earlier  there  had  been  born  in  Haabai  a  prince,  by  name 
Taufa-ahau,  who  was  destined  to  play  an  illustrious  part  in 
Tongan  history.     While  tributary  to  Tubou  of  Tonga,  Taufa-ahau 

♦  Tonga  has  given  its  name  to  the  whole  archipelago 


THE  ISLANDS  OF  THE  SOUTH  SEAS  loi 

was  the  Achilles  amongst  Friendly  Island  chieftains  ;  his  char- 
acter showed  a  rude  Homeric  grandeur.  Here  was  "  a  soul 
naturally  Christian."  Taufa-ahau  was  on  excellent  terms  with 
his  suzerain,  and  frequently  visited  Nukualofa.  The  new  worship 
and  teaching  at  Tubou's  town  fascinated  him.  The  Spirit  of 
God  wrought  in  Taufa-ahau  mightily.  On  returning  home,  he 
forsook  his  idols  and  discarded  many  heathen  customs.  His 
next  step  (in  1828)  was  to  send  to  Mr.  Turner  for  a  teacher  of 
the  lotu  (the  native  name  for  Christianity).  Impatient  of  delay, 
the  king  commandeered  a  rough,  ungodly  English  sailor,  thrown 
by  chance  on  his  coasts,  to  read  prayers  in  a  house  set  apart  for 
the  purpose  ;  the  sailor  taught  the  natives  letters  by  tracing 
characters  on  the  sea-sand. 

When  Peter  Vi,  a  Tongan  teacher,  was  assigned  him  by  Mr. 
Turner  in  the  following  year,  Taufa-ahau  was  affronted  :  "  Only 
a  Tongan  man  !  "  said  he  ;  "  how  should  the  people  of  Haabai 
pay  heed  to  his  religion  ?  "  But  an  awful  storm  met  the  returning 
canoes  ;  and  the  king,  interpreting  this  as  a  rebuke  from  the 
Christians'  God,  repented  of  his  anger  and  begged  for  Peter's 
services.  Some  of  the  Haabai  folk  embraced  the  lotu ;  the 
king  learnt  to  read  and,  though  not  yet  a  professed  believer, 
became  (as  Peter  Vi  put  it)  "  very  mischievous  "  to  the  gods. 
His  heathen  subjects  taking  alarm,  and  plots  against  him  being 
on  foot,  the  king  summoned  his  retainers  to  a  great  feast  pre- 
pared by  the  Christians,  at  which  he  publicly  declared  his  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ  and,  adding  deeds  to  words,  dashed  in  pieces 
his  idols  and  pulled  down  their  houses  before  the  eyes  of  the 
assembly.  In  a  few  weeks,  fifteen  out  of  the  eighteen  islands 
under  Taufaahau's  jurisdiction  had  renounced  idolatry. 

This  happened  in  1830.  John  Thomas,  who  at  Stony  Hihifo 
had  accomplished  little  hitherto  beyond  learning  the  language, 
was  transferred  to  Lifuka,  the  Haabaian  capital.  Just  then 
King  Finau  of  Vavau  paid  a  State  visit  to  King  George  (as  we 
shall  now  call  Taufa-ahau),  and  the  Haabai  chiefs  assembled  to 
meet  him.  George  fell  dangerously  ill.  The  enemies  of  the  lotu 
expected  his  death,  and  some  miscreant,  to  make  sure,  admin- 
istered a  dose  of  poison.  The  helpless  king  was  rescued  from 
the  hands  of  the  heathen  through  the  arrival  of  a  powerful 
Christian  chief  ;  Mr.  Thomas  applied  remedies,  which  proved 
effectual.  But  for  some  hours  his  life  was  in  suspense  :  "  All 
the  Christian  chiefs,  and  ourselves,"  writes  Peter  Vi,  "  met  to 
pray  for  him.  No  Christian  slept  that  night.  As  daylight 
approached,  a  wailing  sound  was  heard.     We  thought  the  king 


102  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

was  gone  ;  but  we  soon  learnt  it  was  a  cry  of  joy  from  his  sister, 
because  he  was  better  !  The  Lord  had  heard  our  prayer,  and 
blessed  the  medicine."  The  event  powerfully  affected  the  great 
concourse  of  islanders  gathered  at  this  meeting  of  the  kings  ; 
Haabai  was  won  for  Christ. 

The  missionary  was  now  overwhelmed  with  labour  :  "  We  that 
can  speak  the  language,"  he  reports,  "  are  almost  worn  out  in 
the  work  of  the  Lord  ;  and  yet  it  is  not  done  as  we  wish  to  see 
it."  Peter  Turner*  and  his  wife,  newly  come  from  England, 
were  sent  to  help  the  Thomases,  not  before  Mr.  Thomas  had  been 
prostrated  by  sickness  ;  the  work  still  outpaced  their  efforts. 
In  two  months  a  church  was  built,  for  four  hundred  people  ; 
carved  spear-shafts  supplied  its  communion-rails,  and  disused 
war-clubs  decorated  the  pulpit-steps.  King  George,  however, 
betrayed  "  the  natural  man  "  in  his  church-building;  mistaking 
the  elevation  of  the  pulpit  as  a  claim  of  rank,  he  had  a  higher 
seat  erected  for  His  Majesty  opposite  !  The  printing-press  which 
arrived  at  Tonga,  was  a  God-send  ;  books  could  now  be  supplied 
as  fast  as  the  people  learnt  to  read. 

King  George  in  his  turn  visited  Vavau  (1831),  with  a  number 
of  Christian  followers.  Finau,  the  Vavau  king,  also  recognised 
the  superiority  of  Christian  worship;  in  1828  he  had  written 
thus  to  Mr.  Turner,  by  the  hand  of  a  shipwrecked  sailor  :  "  Sir, 
I  am  so  glad  to  hear  you  are  at  Tongatabu,  teaching  my  friend 
Tubou  to  know  the  great  God,  I  hope,  sir,  you  will  be  so  kind 
as  to  send  for  missionaries  to  come  to  my  island,  to  teach  me  and 
my  people.  .  .  .  Be  so  kind,  sir,  as  to  go  as  quick  about  missionaries 
as  time  will  allow.  So  no  more  from  me,  A  wicked  sinner." 
No  European  being  available,  the  services  of  a  Tongan  teacher 
were  offered.  Finau  scorned  the  proposal  and  became,  in  his 
anger,  more  ostentatiously  heathen,  threatening  fiercely  those 
inclined  to  the  lotu.  The  staunch  fidelity  of  two  of  his  subjects 
banished  for  this  crime,  and  the  scenes  witnessed  on  the  visit  to 
Lifuka  above  related,  told  upon  the  king  ;  but  for  the  time  his 
enmity  was  exasperated. 

King  George's  arrival  changed  the  face  of  things.  Already 
the  people  were  half-persuaded  ;  and  Finau  at  last  yielded  to 
his  own  growing  convictions  and  the  arguments  of  his  brother 

*  Peter  and  Nathaniel  Turner  {see  p.  100)  were  both  Cheshiremen, 
but  othenvise  unrelated.  The  latter  returned  to  New  Zealand,  and 
afterwards  "  travelled  "  in  AustraHa  ;  but  Peter  laboured,  with  great 
eflSciency,  for  twenty-three  years  in  Tonga  and  Samoa,  and  was  pecu- 
liarly beloved  by  the  natives  {see  p.  104). 


THE  ISLANDS  OF  THE  SOUTH  SEAS  103 

monarch.  On  the  follo\ving  Sunday  public  Christian  worship 
was  held,  Peter  Vi  officiating  ;  on  Monday  Finau,  who  did 
nothing  by  halves,  ordered  a  wholesale  destruction  of  idols  and 
temples.  For  four  days  and  nights  incessantly,  talking,  reading, 
singing,  praying  went  on,  the  Haabaians  in  George's  company — 
barely  enlightened  themselves — imparting  to  the  Vavauans  all 
they  knew  of  the  great  God.  Before  ever  an  English  missionary 
set  foot  in  Vavau,  heathen  worship  was  swept  away.  In  the 
year  1833  Finau  died,  peacefully  trusting  in  Christ.  George  was 
elected  to  succeed  him,  thus  becoming  ruler  of  two  out  of  the 
three  Friendly  Island  Groups. 

But  the  conversion  of  the  Tongans  had  been  so  far  an  outward 
and  notional,  rather  than  a  deeply  spiritual  change.  Realising 
this,  Peter  Turner  and  David  Cargill  (the  latest  recruit  to  the 
missionary  staff — a  gifted  Scotsman  and  Aberdeen  Master  of 
Arts) — who  were  labouring  at  Vavau  in  1834,  agreed  with  a  band 
of  their  converts  to  intercede  daily  for  a  baptism  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  The  answer  came  suddenly.  A  native  Local  Preacher 
was  officiating  in  a  little  village  chapel,  when  conviction  of  sin 
fell  with  overwhelming  force  upon  himself  and  the  hearers.  The 
service  was  prolonged  the  night  through.  Village  after  village, 
island  after  island,  caught  the  fire.  It  spread  to  Haabai,  then 
to  Tonga.  "  We  have  had  a  most  glorious  revival  of  religion," 
writes  Turner,  "  such  as  I  never  either  saw  or  read  of .  .  .  .  The  Lord 
has  bowed  the  whole  island  to  His  sway  "  ;  similarly  Charles 
Tucker,  from  Haabai :  "  There  has  been  a  most  extraordinary 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  this  station.  ...  I  never  saw  or 
heard  of  anything  equal  to  it."  Then  Thomas  testifies,  for 
Tonga:  "  A  spirit  of  prayer  and  supplication  was  poured  out  .  .  . 
some  nights  the  whole  village  has  been  heard  to  ring  for  hours 
together  with  the  voice  of  prayer  and  praise."  King  George  and 
Queen  Charlotte  were  amongst  the  first  to  tremble  before  the  new 
Power  that  was  upon  the  people,  and  to  rejoice  in  the  pardoning 
love  of  God.  Down  came  the  royal  throne  opposite  the  pulpit 
in  the  church,  never  to  be  reared  again  !  They  released  their 
slaves  ;  they  devoted  themselves  to  study,  and  to  the  uplifting 
of  their  people.  Both  of  them  became  useful  Class-leaders  ; 
and  the  king  qualified,  by  passing  the  proper  examinations,  for 
the  Local  Preachers'  Plan. 

In  the  Tonga  group  of  islands,  however,  the  Christians  were 
still  in  a  minority,  and  the  revival  roused  the  heathen  to  fury. 
War  was  forced  on  the  Government ;  King  George  was  summoned 
by  Josiah  (Tubou)  to  his  help.     The  Christian  leader's  humanity 


104  WESLErS  WORLD  PARISH 

was  as  conspicuous  in  the  protracted  struggle,  as  his  courage 
and  military  skill.  The  heathen  forces  were  crushed  ;  and  the 
ascendancy  of  King  George  became  so  complete,  that  when  his 
lord  paramount  died  in  1845,  he  was  raised  to  the  Tongan  throne 
as  sovereign  over  the  whole  Friendly  Islands.  He  substituted 
gradually  a  fixed  legal  system  and  constitutional  Government 
for  arbitrary  royal  administration  and  club-law.  These  reforms 
culminated  in  1862  when,  with  imposing  rehgious  ceremonial,  a 
Tongan  Parliament  was  convened  and  a  comprehensive  and 
well-digested  code  of  laws  was  published.*  A  nation  had  been 
built  up,  with  a  corporate  life  and  public  conscience,  out  of  the 
wild  and  warring  Tongan  tribes. 

That  King  George  had  a  mind  of  his  own  was  shown  by  his 
attitude  toward  Methodism  in  Samoa.  In  1835  agents  of  the  L.M.S. 
were  at  work  here.  But  the  close  intercourse  of  the  Saraoans  with 
the  Friendly  Islanders  led  the  former  to  apply  for  a  Methodist 
missionary  ;  and  in  that  year  Peter  Turner  began  his  brief  Samoan 
ministry,  in  the  course  of  which  he  won  numerous  and  devotedly 
attached  converts.  The  L.M.S.,  however,  claimed  the  first  right 
to  this  field,  and  had  appointed  an  English  missionary  to  occupy 
it.  On  the  discussion  of  the  matter  by  the  two  Societies  in 
England,  the  W.M.M.S.  gave  way  and  withdrew  its  missionary 
(in  1837).  But  the  Samoan  Methodists,  by  this  time  numbering 
2,000,  declined  to  be  transferred.  King  George  took  their  part ; 
he  visited  Samoa  several  times  to  assist  them,  and  sent  them 
teachers  from  Tonga  on  his  own  responsibility.  For  twenty 
years  Methodist  worship  continued  in  this  isolated  spot,  without 
countenance  or  aid  from  the  Missionary  Society,  until  in  1857 
the  Australian  Conference  took  the  derelicts  under  its  wing.  In 
the  end  they  were  peacefully  united  to  the  Congregationalists. 

Fiji 

From  Tonga,  Fiji  was  easily  reached ;  here  Methodism  had  no 
rivals.  The  Fijian  island  of  Lakemba  affords  a  point  of  approach  ; 
Tongan  sailors  frequenting  its  harbour  had  often  spoken  of  the 
lotu.  Moreover,  several  Fijians  visiting  Tonga  had  been  baptized 
amongst  the  early  converts  there.  A  missionary  spirit  was  born 
of  the  revival  of  1834  amongst  the  Tongans  ;  their  eyes,  filled 
with  the  light  of  the  Gospel,  turned  toward  their  heathen  neigh- 
bours in  Fiji.  The  next  batch  of  Christians  sailing  to  Lakemba 
resolved  to  make  the  Good  News  known  in  that  island  ;    the 

*  This  interesting  document  is  printed  in  full  in  the  W.M.M.S.  Report 
for  1863,  pp.  205-15. 


THE  ISLANDS  OF  THE  SOUTH  SEAS  105 

Tongan  Church  followed  them  with  earnest  prayers.  The  ensuing 
Friendly  Islands  Synod,  although  additional  reapers  were  re- 
quired for  its  own  plenteous  harvest,  was  moved  to  separate  two 
of  its  number  for  service  in  Fiji.  In  October  of  the  following  year 
(1836)  William  Cross  and  David  Cargill  landed  in  Lakemba,  with 
their  wives  and  little  children.  From  King  George  to  the  King 
of  Lakemba  they  brought  a  present,  and  a  hearty  recommenda- 
tion. The  interval  had  been  spent  in  the  study  of  the  Fijian 
language  and  the  preparation  of  some  simple  printed  books. 

The  Fijian  group  includes  two  main  islands  situated  some 
distance  westwards  of  Lakemba — Viti  Levu  and  Vanua  Levu — 
which  are  far  larger  and  more  populous  than  any  of  the  Friendly 
Isles.  The  seas  surrounding  these  are  studded  with  islets  ;  and 
the  greater  chiefs,  for  security,  commonly  lived  on  some  small 
island  adjoining  that  part  of  the  mainland  (of  Viti  or  Vanua  Levu) 
which  they  ruled.  Ofi  the  coast  of  Viti  Levu  lies  the  tiny  island 
of  Mbau.  With  this  spot  is  associated  the  name  of  Thakombau, 
the  chief  on  whose  conversion  the  Christianizing  of  Fiji  turned, 
much  as  in  the  case  of  the  Friendly  Islands  and  King  George.  But 
the  two  rulers  were  men  of  very  different  type  ;  and  the  conquest 
of  Fiji  was  to  prove  a  far  harder  task  than  that  of  Tonga. 

Seru  (Thakombau 's  name  in  boyhood)  was  the  son  of  Tanoa, 
the  powerful  king  of  Mbau.  The  father  was  driven  out  in  a  local 
revolution  instigated  by  Namosimalua,  king  of  the  adjoining 
island  of  Viwa.  The  victorious  party  would  have  killed  Seru  ; 
but  the  under-chiefs,  who  saw  in  him  a  harmless  youth,  prevented 
this.  Before  long,  under  an  air  of  innocence,  Seru  had  craftily 
won  over  many  of  his  father's  enemies.  Above  all,  he  gained  the 
friendship  of  Namosimalua's  nephew,  Verani,  a  youth  of  his  own 
age,  who  grew  later  into  "  the  perfect  type  of  a  Fijian  warrior, 
excelling  in  heroic  courage,  brutal  ferocity,  and  diabolic  cruelty." 
One  night  the  usurpers  in  Mbau  awoke  to  find  their  houses  in 
flames  ;  they  were  compelled  to  flee.  Tanoa  returned  in  triumph, 
and  held  a  cannibal  feast  on  the  bodies  of  such  of  his  foes  as  had 
escaped  the  flames.  This  exploit  won  for  Seru  his  name  of 
Thakombau,  Evil-to-Mbau. 

William  Cross  arrived  from  Lakemba  in  the  midst  of  the  orgy, 
about  the  close  of  1837.  By  this  time  the  sub-king  of  Lakemba 
was  disposed  to  lotu  ;  he  dared  not  do  this,  however,  without  the 
approval  of  the  superior  chiefs,  and  the  work  of  the  Mission  had 
so  far  been  only  local.  Thakombau  welcomed  the  missionary ; 
but  Mr.  Cross,  under  the  circumstances,  declined  his  hospitality, 
and  withdrew  to  the  mainland,  where  the  King  of  Rewa  received 


lo6  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

him  with  some  cordiality.  In  1839  he  paid  Thakombau  a  second 
visit,  but  now  found  him  offended,  and  therefore  passed  over  to 
Viwa,  hearing  that  Namosimalua  was  friendly  to  the  lotu.  This 
chief  was  the  wily  Ulysses  of  Fiji :  "  No  one,"  writes  John  Wats- 
ford,  "  ever  knew  what  he  really  meant.  I  have  known  him 
when  kneeling  in  church  cry  most  earnestly,  '  Glory  !  Glory  !' 
and,  looking  up,  I  have  seen  the  old  fellow  watching  me  with 
the  only  eye  he  had,  to  observe  what  effect  his  devotion  had  on 
me."  To  all  appearance  Namosimalua  became  peaceable  and 
teachable  ;  he  gave  Mr.  Cross  free  access  to  his  people.  Namosi- 
malua's  reputation  for  sagacity  was  such  that  his  attitude  widely 
affected  Fijian  opinion.  Tanoa's  behaviour  towards  his  new 
neighbours  was  shifty  ;  Thakombau  and  Verani,  though  they 
visited  and  conversed  with  the  missionary,  still  firmly  opposed  the 
faith.  But  they  became  ashamed  of  cannibalism,  and  it  declined 
in  Mbau. 

In  1842  William  Cross  died,  worn  out  by  fourteen  years  of 
heroic  service,  the  last  six  spent  amongst  scenes  of  horror  beyond 
description.  John  Hunt — the  Lincolnshire  ploughboy  and  saint 
— came  to  fill  his  place  at  Viwa  ;  he  had  served  a  bitter  appren- 
ticeship in  Somosomo  (off  the  coast  of  Vanua  Levu),  the  darkest 
spot  in  all  dark  Fiji.  Here  he  had  gained  a  thorough  mastery 
of  the  language,  and  had  done  valuable  work  in  translation.  Pro- 
gress was  now  steady  in  Viwa,  whose  people  were  uncommonly 
intelUgent,  until  war  broke  out  with  Mbau,  accompanied  by  the 
old  atrocities. 

About  this  time  Verani  was  converted.  He  had  requested  to 
be  taught  to  read.  One  day  the  lesson  was  the  Passion-story. 
As  they  proceeded,  his  teacher  was  startled  by  a  heavy  sob. 
"  Why  did  Jesus  suffer  all  this  ?  "  asked  the  scholar  ;  "  For 
yon,"  was  the  answer — "to  save  you!"  "Then,"  came  the 
quick  response,  "  I  am  His  !  I'll  give  myself  to  Him."  The 
"  great  transaction  "  was  done  !  "If  few  men  have  ever  sinned 
more  deeply,"  says  James  Calvert,  "  no  man  ever  repented  more 
deeply  !  "  Trembling,  Verani  reported  what  had  happened  to 
Thakombau,  who  sent  word  in  reply  that  on  the  day  he  was 
baptized  he  should  also  be  killed  and  eaten  !  For  a  while  Verani 
hesitated  ;  but  Good  Friday  came  round  ;  the  meaning  of  the 
celebration  was  explained  to  him  ;  and  he  could  not  let  the  day 
pass  without  confessing  the  Lamb  of  God.  "  I  fear  you,"  was 
the  message  he  sent  to  Thakombau  announcing  his  resolve,  "  but 
I  fear  the  great  God  very  much  more."  He  was  baptized,  in  the 
sight  of  the  people,  by  the  name  of  Elijah. 


THE  ISLANDS  OF  THE  SOUTH  SEAS  107 

Just  too  late  a  messenger  came  from  Thakombau,  asking  his 
friend  to  wait,  that  he  too  might  lotu.  This  was  a  transient 
impulse  ;  but  it  betokened  a  misgiving  that  submission  was 
inevitable.  To  Thakombau 's  chagrin,  Verani  would  no  longer 
join  in  his  murderous  raids.  "  Very  good,"  said  the  chief,  with 
humorous  tolerance  ;  "  stay  at  home,  and  learn  your  book  well  !  " 
Verani,  however,  could  not  be  inactive  ;  again  and  again  he 
hazarded  his  life  to  prevent  bloodshed.  With  a  band  of  picked 
men,  he  rescued  an  American  ship's  company  from  cannibal 
clutches — he  who  had  earned  his  name  by  massacring  a  French 
crew  in  his  heathen  days.*  His  life  was  lost  (1853)  in  a  vain 
endeavour  to  compose  an  inter- tribal  feud. 

At  Viwa  a  revival  took  place  in  1845,  arising  out  of  Verani's 
conversion,  which  so  powerfully  affected  the  town  that  "  busi- 
ness, sleep,  and  food  were  almost  laid  aside."  Thakombau's 
belief  in  heathenism  was  gone,  and  he  delighted  to  see  the  trickery 
of  the  priests  exposed  ;  his  barbarity  was  checked  and.  his  "  hands 
tied,"  as  he  complained,  by  the  spell  of  Christianity.  But  he 
was  resolved  to  be  absolute  master  of  Fiji,  and  would  not  yield 
to  the  Prince  of  Peace  with  his  martial  ambitions  unfulfilled. 
He  was  now  incensed  because  his  armies  were  depleted  by  the 
advance  of  Christianity.  The  death  of  John  Hunt  in  1848,  whom 
with  all  his  devilry  Thakombau  loved,  for  the  time  drove  the 
anger  from  his  heart f  ;  and  there  were  strong  hopes  of  his  con- 
version. Successive  visits  of  British  men-of-war,  whose  com- 
manders were  friendly  to  the  missionaries  and  with  whom 
Thakombau  wished  to  stand  well,  helped  in  the  right  direction. 
The  conflict  in  his  mind  was  vividly  expressed  by  his  reply,  given 
with  high  good  humour  to  persecuted  Christians  seeking  his  aid  : 
"  When  I  ask  you  /o/w-people  to  help  me  in  war,  you  say,  '  No, 
it  is  not  right  for  Christians  to  fight ' ;  and  here  we  are  breaking 
our  backs,  and  catching  dysentery,  and  being  shot  in  great 
numbers,  while  you  sit  quietly  at  home  !  Now  you  have  a  fight 
of  your  own,  and  I  am  glad  of  it.  Besides,  I  hate  your  Chris- 
tianity !  But,"  he  added  in  quieter  mood,  "  I  know  that  it  is 
true  and  the  work  of  God,  and  that  we  shall  all  become  Christians." 
His  favourite  son  was  put  under  missionary  instruction. 

For  all  this,  "  the  old  man  "  was  still  strong  in  Thakombau. 
At  Mbau,  his  capital,  he  would  allow  no  mission-station.     Here 

*   Verani  is  Fijian  for  France. 

t  Years  afterwards,  Thakombau  confessed  that  he  had  never  been 
able  to  shake  off  the  impression  made  on  him  by  Hunt's  solicitude  for 
his  conversion. 


io8  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

in  1849  a  cannibal  feast  took  place,  held  to  gratify  some  heathen 
guests.  The  missionaries'  wives  (Mrs.  Calvert  and  Mrs.  Lyth*) 
were  alone  at  Viwa  when  the  report  reached  them  ;  but  these 
brave  women  immediately  set  out  to  Mbau  (two  miles  across  the 
water)  in  hope  of  stopping  the  butchery.  The  old  king  Tanoa 
was  confounded  by  their  appearance  ;  he  repUed  to  their  plea  : 
*'  Those  who  are  dead,  are  dead  ;  but  those  who  are  ahve,  shall 
live  " — five  out  of  the  fourteen  victims  were  saved. 

Tanoa's  death,  in  1852,  brought  another  crisis.  Would 
Thakombau  obey  the  sacred  heathen  custom  by  strangUng  his 
father's  wives  ?  The  missionary  Watsford  {see  p.  147)  was 
there  to  prevent,  if  possible,  the  horrid  ceremony ;  he  offered 
all  that  he  possessed — even  the  mutilation  of  his  own  body — ^for 
the  redemption  of  the  unhappy  women.  Again  there  was  a 
compromise  :  "  They  are  not  many,"  said  Thakombau—"  only 
five ;  but  for  you  missionaries,  there  would  have  been  twenty- 
five  !  "  The  King  was  full  of  gloom  ;  he  was  consciously  fight- 
ing against  God,  and  seemed  further  than  ever  from  the  lotu. 

Now  reverses  befell  him.  His  insolence  involved  him  in 
conflict  with  foreigners  ;  heavy  taxation  alienated  his  people  ; 
a  band  of  white  abettors  of  his  crimes  turned  against  him  ;  his 
ancient  rival,  the  king  of  Rewa,  rebelled.  His  bosom  friend, 
Verani,  died  {see  p.  107),  and  sore  sickness  came  upon  himself. 
Throughout  these  troubles  Joseph  Waterhouse  and  his  wife,  who 
had  recently  received  grudging  permission  to  reside  as  mission- 
aries at  Mbau,  at  the  peril  of  their  lives  stood  by  Thakombau  ; 
and  Calvert  in  Viwa  watched  daily  for  the  signal  that  should 
bring  him  to  the  king's  help.  Calamity  had  broken  the  chief's 
proud  spirit ;  he  was  overcome  by  the  faithfulness  of  the  Chris- 
tian friends  who  had  endured  so  long  his  saturnine  humours.  On 
April  30th,  1854,  Thakombau  pubHcly  professed  the  lotu;  little 
by  little  its  meaning  penetrated  his  darkened  mind,  and  his  sins 
weighed  upon  him  more  than  his  misfortunes. 

In  January,  1855,  the  sudden  death  of  the  hostile  king  of  Rewa 
changed  the  current  of  affairs.  Before  the  malcontents  had 
found  another  leader.  King  George  of  Tonga  visited  the  islands  ; 
reluctantly  he  was  drawn  into  the  war,  which  his  generalship 
brought  to  a  speedy  termination.  Seventy  towns  returned  to 
their  allegiance  to  Mbau  ;    clemency  was  shown  to  the  rebels. 

*  Wife  of  Richard  Burdsall  Lyth,  pastor,  scholar,  and  physician, 
whose  Fij  an  name  meant  "  carpenter  of  illness."  He  served  in  the 
Islands  for  eighteen  years  (1836-54),  and  was  "one  of  the  grandest 
missionaries  God  ever  gave  to  our  Fiji  Mission." 


%-=tK,  IS  -SlT  f^BS A' 


The  Missionaries'  Wives,  on  their  way  to  stop  a  cannibal  feast. 


i 


THE  ISLANDS  OF  THE  SOUTH  SEAS  109 

The  treatment  of  the  women  and  children  had  been  the  grimmest 
feature  of  Fijian  warfare  ;  the  gentleness  of  the  Tongan  alUes  in 
this  respect  softened  the  Fijians  everywhere. 

Official  hindrances  being  now  withdrawn,  the  lotu  spread 
swiftly  ;  a  new  conscience  made  itself  felt  in  Fiji.  In  January, 
1857,  Thakombau  publicly  married  his  principal  wife,  after 
making  due  provision  for  the  rest ;  he  was  then  admitted  to 
baptism.  "  It  must  have  cost  him  a  struggle  to  stand  up  before 
the  flower  of  his  people  to  confess  his  former  sins.  In  time  past 
he  had  considered  himself  a  god ,  and  had  received  honours  almost 
divine  ;  now  he  adores  his  great  Creator  and  merciful  Preserver. 
And  what  a  congregation  he  had  ! — husbands,  whose  wives  he 
had  dishonoured  ;  widows,  whose  husbands  he  had  slain  ;  sisters, 
whose  relatives  had  been  strangled  by  his  orders  ;  relatives, 
whose  friends  he  had  eaten  ;  and  children,  the  descendants  of 
those  he  had  murdered,  and  who  had  vowed  to  avenge  the  wrongs 
inflicted  on  their  fathers  !  A  thousand  stony  hearts  heaved  with 
fear  and  astonishment." 

Some  years  later,  the  worn-out  giant  lay  a-dying.  Standing 
behind  the  curtain  of  his  apartment,  the  missionary  heard  the  old 
man  crying  thus  :  "  Now,  Jesus,  now  is  your  time  to  help  ;  no  one 
else  can.  ...  I  am  in  the  valley  and  the  shadow  of  death  ;  Jesus 
holds  me  fast  !      Who  shall  separate  me  from  the  love  of  Christ  !  " 

How  much  besides  there  is  to  tell  in  the  story  of  the  coming 
of  the  kingdom  of  God  to  Tonga  and  Fiji,  for  which  space  is 
wanting  1  The  later  history  of  the  Church  in  the  Islands — its 
growth  and  trials,  the  decimation  of  its  people  by  European  sick- 
nesses, its  martyrdoms  endured  in  spreading  the  knowledge  of 
Christ  amongst  the  further  heathen,  the  coming  of  the  new  heath- 
enism imported  by  Hmdu  labour — lies  beyond  our  present  view. 

At  the  time  of  the  transference  of  the  two  Districts  to  the 
Australian  Conference  in  1855  {see  p.  150)  education,  especially 
the  training  of  native  ministers  and  teachers,  had  become  an 
urgent  problem.  The  Tongatabu  Institution  was  established  for 
the  latter  purposes  in  1847  ;  similar  provision  was  made  later 
at  other  centres.  Through  the  generous  help  of  the  Bible  Society, 
the  New  Testament,  translated  by  our  missionaries,  was  avail- 
able in  both  languages  by  the  year  1850.  and  the  complete  Bible 
in  i860. 

In  1855,  out  of  a  population  of  some  30,000  in  the  Friendly 
Islands  Methodism  counted  close  upon  7,000  Church-members, 
and    above    7,000    scholars  ;    half    the    inhabitants    regularly 


no  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

attended  Christian  worship,  and  only  fifty  professed  heathen  were 
left  in  the  islands.  The  Fijians  numbered  perhaps  250,000  ; 
amongst  these  were  3,000  Methodist  members  of  Society,  over 
twice  as  many  scholars,  and  about  10,000  attenders  at  public 
worship — numbers  greatly  augmented  a  few  years  later,  after 
the  establishment  of  peace  and  Thakombau's  baptism.  Fiji  is 
now  a  part  of  the  British  Empire ;  and  Tonga  has  become  a  British 
Protectorate. 


CHAPTER  IX 
Breaking  Ground  in  Ceylon  and  India 

When  Thomas  Coke  died  on  the  way  to  India  {see  Chapter  11.), 
he  left  six  missionary  novices  to  complete  the  voyage  bereaved 
of  their  father  and  guide  :  their  names  were  William  Ault,  Ben- 
jamin Clough,  George  Erskine,  William  Martin  Harvard  (and  his 
wife),  James  Lynch,  and  Thomas  Hall  Squance.  The  party 
landed  in  Bombay,  without  money  or  credit  (Dr.  Coke  had  made 
no  provision  against  his  decease),  with  no  instructions  for  this 
contingency,  and  with  the  vaguest  plans  for  the  future.  Had 
they  taken  the  first  homeward-bound  ship,  no  one  could  have 
blamed  them.  They  bravely  went  forward,  casting  themselves 
upon  the  providence  of  God.  Thanks  to  the  friendly  mediation 
of  their  ship-captain,  money  was  advanced  for  their  immediate 
needs,  and  they  were  received  as  guests  by  the  Governor  of 
Bombay.  A  month  later  the  Httle  company,  excepting  the  Har- 
vards  who  followed  six  months  after,  embarked  for  Galle,  the 
south-western  port  of  Ceylon,  which  they  reached  at  the  end  of 
June. 

This  island,  recently  captured  from  the  Dutch  [see  p.  78),  was 
a  Crown  Colony,  uncontrolled  by  the  East  India  Company.  By 
a  good  Providence  its  British  officials  were  exceptionally  well- 
disposed.  Their  countenance  and  good-will  were  peculiarly 
welcome  to  missionaries  landing  in  a  strange  country,  with  such 
formidable  work  before  them.  Squance  preached  on  the  follow- 
ing Sabbath  in  the  old  Dutch  Church  of  Galle,  when  the  conver- 
sion of  a  Burgher*  physician  of  Swiss  descent,  by  name  William 
Lalmon  (missionary  from  1816-62),  gave  a  hopeful  augury. 

*  "  Burgher  "  is  the  name  borne,  with  some  pride,  by  the  Eurasians 
of  Ceylon,  who  are  chiefly  of  Dutch  (sometimes  Portuguese)  and  Sin 
halese  (or  Tamil)  descent. 


BREAKING  GROUND  IN  CEYLON  AND  INDIA    iii 

Ceylon  was  nominally  already  Christianized.  During  the 
Portuguese  occupation  (i  505-1 617)  the  Roman  Catholic  faith 
had  been  enforced  along  the  coast,  and  here  and  there  was  strongly 
rooted.  After  the  Dutch  conquest  the  Reformed  Church  of 
Holland  took  the  official  place  of  Romanism.  Baptism  was 
indispensable  for  public  office  ;  instruction  in  the  Protestant 
rudiments  became  compulsory ;  Christian  marriage  was  prescribed 
by  law,  and  marriage-certificates  were  required  in  evidence  of 
claims  to  inheritance  ;  heathen  and  Buddhist  shrines  were  ex- 
tensively destroyed.  But  the  effect  of  this  compulsion  had  been 
worse  than  superficial.  Buddhism  persisted  in  the  south,  Hin- 
duism in  the  north,  under  a  veneer  of  conformity.  The  people 
combined  the  worship  of  the  Christian  God  with  that  of  Buddha 
or  Siva,  and  allegiance  to  Jesus  with  submission  to  the  devil- 
priest.  When  the  English  rule  superseded  the  Dutch  in  1796, 
and  Christian  profession  was  no  longer  imperative,  the  mask  was 
dropped.  Within  the  first  ten  years  of  British  rule  idol-temples 
multiplied  in  the  occupied  provinces  by  at  least  three-fold,  while 
churches  and  schools  fell  into  ruin.  Nothing  effectual  was  done 
to  stay  the  reaction  ;  for  a  full  decade  the  Church  slept,  while 
the  enemy  sowed  tares. 

In  1805  the  L.M.S.  appointed  four  missionaries  to  Ceylon, 
three  of  whom  were  soon  withdrawn  ;  the  fourth  became  pastor 
of  a  Dutch  Church.  The  B.M.S.  stationed  a  single  agent  at 
Colombo  in  181 2.  Government  had  its  chaplains,  ministering  to 
the  British  soldiers  and  civilians. 

Such  was  the  situation  when  the  Methodist  missionary  party 
landed  at  Point  de  Galle.  The  population  within  reach  had  some 
acquaintance  with  Christian  words  and  forms  ;  they  had  gained 
facility  in  nominal  profession  ;  under  their  polite  deference  lay 
a  rooted  contempt.  Said  an  old  man  one  day  :  "  When  the 
Dutch  brought  the  Gospel  milk  to  Ceylon,  they  gave  it  to  us 
scalding  hoi  ;  it  burnt  our  throats,  and  now  the  people  are  afraid 
to  come  to  the  vessel  to  drink  !  "  The  Government  was  alarmed 
at  the  anti-Christian  revulsion,  and  ready  to  encourage  the 
attempt  to  counteract  it ;  but  they  saw  the  evil  of  State 
patronage. 

Two  nations  of  different  race  and  speech  inhabited  the  island — 
the  Sinhalese  chiefly  in  the  south,  the  sturdier  Tamils  in  the 
north.  The  latter  had  crossed  the  straits  from  India  many 
centuries  before,  bringing  their  Hinduism  with  them  and  over- 
throwing the  once-powerful  Buddhism  of  North  Ceylon ;  the 
former  remained  Buddhists.     With  both  creeds  was  amalgamated 


112  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

the  primitive  animistic  devil-worship  practised  by  the  village- 
people  all  over  the  island  ;  this  was  the  sole  religion  of  the  abori- 
ginal Veddahs  {see  p.  195).  Ceylon  presented  a  religious  problem 
very  different  from  anything  encountered  by  Christianity  in  Africa 
or  the  South  Seas,  and  capable  of  a  far  more  effective  resistance. 
Buddhism  is  a  highly  organized  religion,  with  its  scholar-priests 
and  preachers,  its  monasteries  and  its  sacred  literature. 

On  the  other  hand,  Ceylon  had  along  the  coast  a  comparatively 
large  contingent  of  island-born  families  of  more  or  less  European 
blood  and  Christian  education  {see  foot-note  on  p.  1 1 o) .  Here  ' '  the 
centuries,  the  continents,  the  races  of  mankind  have  tumbled 
together."  The  language-problem  was  complicated  by  the  pre- 
valence of  Portuguese*  in  commerce  and  in  Europeanised  society  ; 
its  acquisition  was  indispensable  in  the  coast-towns.  Either  in 
North  or  South  Ceylon,  missionaries  had  to  be  trilingual.  Muham- 
madanism  is  represented  by  the  Moors  (or  Moormen) — sailors 
and  traders  of  Malay  and  Arab  descent,  who  live  in  detached 
communities  on  the  coast,  and  are  little  touched  by  Christian 
influence. 

The  prospects  offered  to  the  inexperienced  missionaries  were 
flattering  ;  they  wrote  to  England  hopeful  letters,  which  relieved 
the  anxiety  caused  by  Dr.  Coke's  decease.  The  wind  was  "  tem- 
pered to  the  shorn  lambs  I  "  The  Government  promised  facilities 
for  their  work,  and  invited  them,  while  learning  the  native 
languages,  to  take  charge  of  certain  derelict  schools.  Under 
this  arrangement,  Lynch  and  Squance  went  to  Jaffna,  a  Tamil 
town  in  the  extreme  north  ;  Ault  was  appointed  to  Batticaloa 
(Tamil)  on  the  east  coast ;  Erskine  took  charge  of  Matara,  at 
the  southern  end  of  the  island,  but  soon  rejoined  Clough,  who 
remained  at  Galle.  Harvard,  who  had  a  knowledge  of  printing, 
on  his  arrival  from  Bombay  was  posted  at  Colombo,  situated 
midway  on  the  west  coast,  and  set  up  there  the  printing-press 
which  Dr.  Coke  had  provided,  while  he  established  preaching 
(in  four  languages)  in  and  around  the  city.  The  chief  centres 
of  Methodist  work  in  Ceylon  were  thus  marked  out. 

Our  work  in  Colombo  was  greatly  furthered  by  the  help  of 
Andrew  Armour,  head  of  the  Government  Schools.  Armour  was 
an  ex-soldier,  who  had  been  brought  to  God  under  Methodist 
preaching  in  Ireland.  Stationed  at  Gibraltar,  he  gathered  round 
him  a  group  of  comrades,  which  became  the  nucleus  of  Method- 
ism there  {see  p.  125).  Transferred  to  Madras  in  1798,  Armour 
became  an  expert  linguist,  and  was  attached  as  interpreter  to 

*  This  speech  is  now  rapidly  disappearing  in  Ceylon. 


BREAKING  GROUND  IN  CEYLON  AND  INDIA    113 

the  Court  of  Justice  in  Colombo  on  its  establishment.  He  was 
discharged  from  the  army,  to  be  made  Headmaster  of  a  large 
Government  School.  An  Anglican  license  was  conferred  upon 
him,  with  a  view  to  vernacular  preaching.  This  extraordinary 
man  co-operated  zealously  with  our  first  missionaries  ;  for  two 
years  (1816-17)  his  name  appears  in  our  list  of  ministers.  Armour 
returned  to  the  service  of  the  Anglican  Church,  but  remained  an 
ally  of  the  Methodists.  His  work  in  translation  was  invaluable 
to  Ceylonese  Christianity.     He  died,  deeply  lamented,  in  1828. 

Difference  of  language  and  difficulties  of  communication  led 
to  the  separation,  in  1819,  of  the  South  and  North — Sinhalese 
and  Tamil — fields  of  labour.     William  Buckley  Fox  and  James 
Lynch  were  their  respective  Chairmen.     Strong  reinforcements 
had  been  sent  to  the  island  since  1814  :  along  with  Fox  (a  Preacher 
of  standing  at  home,  and  a  good  linguist),  there  were  Robert 
Carver,  Robert  Newstead,  Thomas  Osborne,  Joseph  Roberts,  John 
Callaway,  beside  others  who  early  quitted  the  field.     Amongst 
the  first  comers,  Erskine,  proving  inapt  in  language,  in  a  few 
years  removed   to   Australia.     Ault  had   died   at  Batticaloa  in 
eight  months,  through  privation  and  exposure.     Clough,  Harvard, 
Lynch,  and  Squance  were  left,  out  of  Coke's  original  six.    Clough 
became  a  great  vernacular  scholar,  producing  the  first  standard 
Sinhalese-English  Dictionary  ;    Harvard  also  remained  in  South 
Ceylon — he  excelled  in  administrative  gifts  and  spiritual  power  ; 
Lynch  and  Squance  entered  upon  the  Tamil  work,  which  they 
extended   to   the   Indian   mainland.     Though   neither   of   these 
latter  became  proficient  in  Tamil — Lynch  was  nearly  forty  years 
old  when  he  left  Ireland — they  were  true  founders,  and  gained 
a  hold  upon  the  English  and  Portuguese-speaking  population 
which  was  essential  at  the  beginning.     Lynch  was  an  excellent 
pastor,   Squance  a  powerful  preacher.     Both  in   Colombo  and 
Jaffna  Methodism  won  a  number  of  Burgher  families,  who  proved 
a  mainstay  of  the  Church. 

The  old  Dutch  port  of  Galle  was  the  starting-point  of  Method- 
ism in  South  Ceylon.  Here  the  missionaries  re-assembled  on 
Harvard's  arrival.  Their  meeting  was  an  occasion  of  extraor- 
dinary spiritual  power,  marked  by  the  winning  for  Christ  of  the 
earliest  abiding  Sinhalese  convert,  Don  Cornelius  Wijisingha, 
whose  course  in  the  ministry  (1819-64)  was  "  a  beautiful  example 
of  Christian  gentleness  and  patience,"  and  of  fearless  trust  in 
God.  Matara  was  re-occupied  by  John  Callaway,  in  1 816.  These 
two  stations,  situated  amongst  purely  Sinhalese  people,  have 
been  centres  for  three  generations  of  the  conflict  in  this  part  of 

H 


114  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

the  island,  where  "  the  soil  is  thick  with  the  matted  roots  and 
age-long  growths  of  a  tangled  Buddhism  and  demonism,"  and 
where  the  work  of  conversion  has  been  "  like  wrestling  the  prey 
from  the  teeth  of  the  enraged  lion."  But  the  fruit  so  hardly 
won  has  proved  especially  sound  and  enduring.  The  hold  of  the 
Mission  on  this  district  was  greatly  strengthened  by  the  occupa- 
tion of  Richmond  Hill,  near  to  Galle — property  secured  in  1851 
by  Joseph  Rippon  (missionary  from  1850-61)  ;  this  splendid  site, 
gradually  covered  with  church  and  school-premises,  forms  to-day 
the  most  powerful  educational  centre  in  southern  Ceylon. 

The  western  province  of  the  Sinhalese  District  developed  more 
quickly.  The  vigorous  commencement  of  its  work  under  Harvard 
has  already  been  noted  (p.  112).  At  the  Pettah  in  Colombo  the 
first  Methodist  Chapel  of  Asia  was  built,  in  1816.  The  suburb 
of  Colpetty,  occupied  later,  became  the  headquarters  of  the 
Mission.  Fox  and  Clough  in  succession  took  charge  of  Colombo, 
when  Harvard  returned  to  England  through  loss  of  health  in 
181 9.  In  1818  Daniel  John  Gogerly  arrived,  in  the  capacity  of 
printer  and  press-manager — the  greatest  man  Methodism  ever 
gave  to  Ceylon.  His  first  service  was  to  extricate  the  finances 
of  the  Mission  from  the  confusion  into  which  they  had  fallen, 
through  the  business  inexperience  and  the  many  distractions  of 
the  missionaries.  His  linguistic  genius  and  gift  for  vernacular 
preaching  came  into  play,  and  in  1823  Gogerly  was  enlisted  in 
the  ministry,  in  which  he  served  until  his  death  in  1862,  never 
once  returning  to  England.  From  the  year  1838  he  presided 
over  the  South  Ceylon  District,  residing  chiefly  in  Colombo. 
John  Walton  {see  p.  169)  thus  delineates  him  :  "  With  the  head 
of  a  German,  the  heart  of  an  Englishman,  and  the  faith  of  a 
Methodist,  he  was  a  great  man  every  way.  ...  In  scholarship, 
in  his  own  line,  he  has  left  no  peer.  In  administrative  capacity, 
he  could  have  governed  a  kingdom.  As  a  preacher,  he  was 
convincing  as  Apollos  and  sinewy  as  Paul.  The  best  of  the  man 
was  his  kind  and  large  heart."  Gogerly  set  himself,  with  giant 
strength,  to  master  the  profound  system  of  Buddhism,  digging 
down  to  its  roots  in  the  Pali*  literature  and  acquainting  himself 
with  all  its  usages  and  developments.  His  knowledge  of  the 
subject  was  unrivalled  then,  and  has  hardly  been  equalled  since  ; 
the  most  erudite  Orientalists  quote  him  with  respect ;  leading 
Buddhist  teachers  adopted  his  decisions  on  obscure  points  of 

*  Pali,  the  classical  language  of  Buddhism,  was  spoken  in  North 
India  in  the  sixth  century  B.C.,  when  Gautama  lived.  It  is  the  offspring 
of  Sanscrit,  the  tongue  of  the  original  Aryans. 


BREAKING  GROUND  IN  CEYLON  AND  INDIA    115 

their  doctrine.  Gogerly  wrote  much  in  the  way  of  controversial 
discussion  and  exposition,  though  he  pubHshed  no  continuous 
work*. 

Robert  Spence  Hardy,  who  succeeded  to  Gogerly's  District 
Chair,  stood  only  second  to  his  chief  in  learning  and  influence. 
He  served  in  Ceylon  from  1825-46,  and  again  from  1862-64. 
His  works  on  Buddhism  are  still  standard  books  on  the  subject ; 
and  his  Jubilee  Memorials  of  the  Wesleyan  Mission  in  South 
Ceylon,  published  in  1863,  is  a  valuable  historical  record. 

From  Colombo  the  light  of  the  Gospel  spread  north  and  south 
along  the  coast.  At  Negombo,  20  miles  to  the  north,  the  way 
was  opened  by  a  Romanist  Sinhalese  named  Pereira,  who  had 
come  under  Harvard's  influence  at  Colombo.  Appointed  to  an 
interpretership  in  Negombo,  this  young  man  commenced  a  school 
on  his  own  account,  which  flourished  greatly.  Pereira's  success  led 
to  the  appointment  to  Negombo  of  Robert  Newstead  [see  p.  113). 
Don  Daniel  Pereira,  brother  of  the  teacher  just  mentioned,  was 
brought  to  Christ  and  became  an  earnest  Methodist ;  in  course 
of  time  he  entered  the  ministry  (1826-67),  the  second  Assistant 
Missionary  of  purely  native  blood  ;  his  son,  Daniel  Henry,  served 
in  the  same  ranks  from  1851-86.  Methodist  teaching  took  a  firm 
hold  of  Negombo,  and  spread  through  the  surrounding  villages. 
Newstead  laboured  with  energy  and  courage,  until  his  health 
succumbed  to  the  climate  and  he  returned  home  in  1826.  Roman- 
ist persecution  was  bitter  in  the  Negombo  Circuit ;  it  served  by 
sifting  the  Church  to  give  it  a  firmer  character  than  elsewhere. 

Southwards  of  Colombo,  Moratuwa,  Panadura,  Kalutara  were 
occupied  in  turn,  as  the  mission  multiplied  its  Burgher  and  Sin- 
halese helpers.  Everywhere  in  Ceylon  the  preacher  had  the 
schoolmaster  for  his  companion  ;  at  first  he  served  the  double 
office.  Without  systematic  education  it  was  impossible  to  fortify 
converts  against  Buddhism,  and  to  raise  up  Christian  families  and 
communities.  Three-fourths  of  our  Ceylonese  converts  have 
come  in  through  this  door. 

Central  Ceylon,  with  its  capital  of  Kandy,  came  into  British 
possession  in  181 6.  Soon  after  this  date  a  missionary  writes  : 
"  Our  eyes  are  watching  the  dawning  of  opportunity  to  get  into 
the  interior  ;  you  must  not  be  surprised  to  see  our  letter  dated 
soon  from  Kandy."     So  early  as  181 9,  Newstead  planned  a  line 

*  It  is  only  recently  (1908)  that  the  writings  of  this  famous  scholar 
have  been  gathered,  in  two  volumes  pubhshed  by  the  Colpetty  Methodist 
Book  Room  under  the  title  Ceylon  Buddhism,  and  edited  by  A.  Stanley 
Bishop. 


ii6  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

of  schools — each  school  a  preaching-place — to  spread  from 
Negombo  through  the  hills  eastwards  to  Kandy.  This  enterprise 
was  stopped  through  the  outbreak  of  pestilence,  and  for  lack 
of  funds.  The  C.M.S.  took  up  our  deserted  task,  with  good  suc- 
cess. At  length,  in  1836,  the  Methodist  Mission  entered  Kandy, 
led  by  converts  from  the  coast  who  had  settled  there  ;  but  reduced 
grants  enforced  a  retreat  three  years  later  (the  story  is  continued 
on  p.  193).  Before  retreating,  Spence  Hardy  won  an  important 
battle  here.  Government  subsidies  had  been  contributed  in  aid 
of  the  prevailing  worship  of  the  Province,  under  an  interpretation 
of  the  convention  made  with  the  Kandyan  chiefs  in  181 6,  which  he 
showed  to  be  unwarranted  ;  now  the  contribution  ceased. 

The  condition  of  Methodism  in  South  Ceylon  is  thus  described 
by  Dr.  F.  J.  Jobson,  who  visited  the  island  from  England  in  i860  : 
*'  I  have  been  gratefully  surprised  by  what  I  have  seen  and  learned 
of  Methodism  here.  .  .  .  On  the  sea-board  of  the  island,  where 
the  population  is  chiefly  found,  it  seems  to  be  almost  as  thickly 
planted  as  in  the  country  parts  of  our  home  Circuits.  .  .  .  The 
centres  of  evangehcal  light  are  fixed,  and  the  radius  of  truth  is 
year  by  year  enlarging.  .  .  .  The  Native  Missionaries  and  As- 
sistants are  converted,  spiritual,  hard-working  men,  and  are 
successfully  doing  the  work  of  evangelists.  The  people  are 
devout,  happy  Christians,  and  are  contributing  out  of  their  scanty 
means  to  the  work  of  God."  In  1857  the  Church-membership 
of  the  South  Ceylon  District  was  nearly  2,000,  with  3  English 
Missionaries  and  14  Burgher  or  Sinhalese  Assistant  Ministers. 
The  number  of  scholars  was  almost  2,500. 

Jaffna,  situated  on  the  extreme  northern  peninsula,  was  the 
headquarters  of  the  Mission  in  North  Tamil,  Ceylon.  Here  Lynch 
and  Squance  arrived  early  in  1815,  after  a  perilous  journey  of  250 
miles  through  the  jungle.  They  found  a  couple  of  hearty  friends 
and  helpers  in  Christian  David,  one  of  Schwartz's  converts  and 
Headmaster  of  the  Government  Normal  School  in  Jaffna,  apd  Mrs. 
Schrader,  the  Protestant  schoolmistress,  who  spoke  Dutch,  Portu- 
guese, and  Tamil.  At  the  age  of  fifty-six  she  learned  English,  and 
translated  the  Wesleyan  Hymns  and  some  of  Wesley's  Sermons 
into  Portuguese,  while  acting  as  language-teacher  to  the  mission- 
aries. English  duties  so  pre-occupied  the  two  pioneers  at  Jaffna, 
that  they  but  slowly  got  at  their  work  amongst  the  natives. 

While  the^Northern  District  boasted  no  leader  of  the  supre- 
macy of  Gogerly,  amongst  the  first  generation  there  were  mis- 
sionaries of  exceptional  power.     Robert  Carver  joined  the  Mission 


BREAKING  GROUND  IN  CEYLON  AND  INDIA    117 

in  1815,  becoming  Chairman  in  1824,  a  man  distinguished  by 
strong  sense  and  fine  spirit,  and  great  general  capacity.  Joseph 
Roberts*,  appointed  in  181 9,  had  "  a  gift  for  languages  and  a 
passion  for  preaching  Christ  to  the  Hindus  " — he  laboured  in 
this  District  until  1831  and  presided  later,  from  1843-8,  over 
the  Madras  District.  Peter  Percival  (1826-51),  was  a  born  lin- 
guist, and  singularly  sensitive  to  the  genius  and  music  of 
Tamil  ;  his  work  in  Bible-translation  shows  the  master's  touch 
While  stationed  in  Calcutta  {see  p.  181),  Percival  had  imbibed 
Dr.  Alexander  Duff's  ideas  respecting  higher  education.  His  chief 
memorial  is  the  Jaffna  Central  School  (now  College),  founded  in 
1834,  aloiig  with  the  Girls'  Boarding  School  and  the  Training 
Institution — the  earliest  Methodist  establishments  of  the  kind 
in  the  East. 

In  Batticaloa,  at  the  other  end  of  the  District,  laboured  Ralph 
Stott,  subsequently  our  pioneer  amongst  the  Natal  coolies 
— a  fluent  Tamil  speaker  and  in  the  happiest  relations  wi thrall 
classes  of  the  natives.  Stott  embodied  the  evangelistic,  as  Perci- 
val did  the  educational,  missionary  ideal.  The  two  were  in 
continual  friendly  conflict ;  from  the  clash  of  their  opinions  the 
policy  of  the  District  was  evolved.  During  Stott's  ministry  a 
church  was  opened  at  Batticaloa  (1839),  to  the  erection  of  which 
the  people  contributed  at  the  rate  of  ;^io  per  member !  Its  build- 
ing was  followed  by  a  great  ingathering  of  souls.  The  first 
Tamil  minister  raised  up  was  John  Sanmugam  Phillips  (1827-63)  ; 
he  was  followed  by  Richard  Watson  (1848-62),  a  convert  of 
Stott's  and  a  preacher  of  exceptional  gifts. 

In  1847  arrived  the  statesman-missionary  of  North  Ceylon, 
John  Kilner  [see  pp.  31,  194,  206),  who  succeeded  in  co-ordinating 
the  rival  methods.  Under  his  Chairmanship  (1860-75)  the  schools 
throve  and  multiplied,  wliile  gospel-preaching  was  effectively 
prosecuted.  "Self-support,  self-government,  self-propagation" 
now  "  became  part  of  the  vocabulary  and  the  ideals  "  of  the  native 
Churches.  Kilner's  finest  work  lay  in  the  training  of  men.  Char- 
acteristic was  the  advice  he  gave  to  a  young  missionary  :  "Be 
sure  to  put  yourself  into  your  boys  !  "  During  its  first  fifty 
years  North  Ceylon  had  produced  two  native  ministers  ;  by  the 
year  1875  twelve  Tamil  names  figure  upon  the  Stations  {see 
Chapter  XIV.) 

This  District  in  1857  was  manned  by  4  English  and  2  Tamil 

*  The  three  daughters  of  Mr.  Roberts  married  missionaries  ;  the 
last  survivor  of  them — the  wife  of  Richard  D.  Griffith  (India  and  Ceylon, 
1837-56) — died  at  a  great  age  a  few  months  ago  in  Bristol  (1912). 


Ii8  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Missionaries,  with  about  300  members  ol  Society  under  their  care. 
The  number  of  scholars  under  instruction  was  nearly  800.  To 
the  original  stations  of  Jaffna  and  Batticaloa  there  had  been 
added  Trincomali,  a  port  midway  between  the  two,  and  Point 
Pedro,  the  northernmost  extremity  of  the  island.  In  view  of 
the  small  numerical  gains  of  the  first  half -century  of  this  Mission, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  the  Tamil  Ceylonese  are  Hindus, 
living  under  the  system  of  Indian  caste  [comp.  p.  189). 

The  Ceylon  Mission  had  passed  through  a  time  of  severe  trial. 
Its  morning  hopes  were  speedily  overcast.  Dr.  Coke's  young 
missionaries  were  little  acquainted  with  the  Oriental  character,  and 
with  the  nature  of  the  great  religions  they  had  come  to  overthrow. 
The  favourable  reception  they  had  met  with  raised  in  them  too 
sanguine  expectations,  and  they  sent  home  accounts  of  their 
prospects  which  later  experience  belied.  A  number  of  Buddhist 
priests  became  enquirers  within  the  first  year  or  two  ;  several 
professed  conversion — with  how  much  sincerity  it  is  hard  to  say. 
Successes  were  prematurely  advertised  ;  and  when  relapse  fol- 
lowed, and  it  became  evident  that  the  promising  disciples  only 
meant  to  graft  the  new  religion  on  the  old,  the  disillusion  was 
bitter,  both  for  the  missionaries  in  the  field  and  for  the  Society 
in  England. 

A  weary  siege  was  awaiting  the  Church  about  the  hoary  walls 
of  Buddhism  and  Hinduism.  To  this  kind  of  warfare  the  temper 
of  Methodism  did  not  readily  adapt  itself.  The  volunteers  sent 
upon  this  service,  although  the  best-educated  the  Church  could 
find,  and  full  of  zeal  and  enterprise,  were  without  specific  train- 
ing for  their  work.  Moreover,  the  expense  of  the  Eastern  Mis- 
sions greatly  exceeded  the  estimates  ;  matters  were  made  worse 
by  the  lack  of  business-knowledge  in  the  early  missionaries, 
and  by  insufficient  instructions  from  home.  These  causes  com- 
bined to  bring  about  within  the  first  five  years  a  crisis  in  the 
Ceylon  and  India  Mission,  which  tasked  all  the  faith  of  the 
pioneers  abroad  and  of  the  Church  at  home  to  surmount  it. 
Happily  at  this  time  the  missionary  fire  of  Methodism  was  burn- 
ing strongly,  and  was  fed  by  good  tidings  from  other  quarters. 
It  began  to  be  seen  that  in  this  field  "  the  husbandman  "  must 
"  wait  with  patience  for  the  precious  fruit  of  the  earth." 

But  the  discouraged  and  censured  missionaries  of  the  first 
days  laid  sound  foundations.  Their  outlay  in  property,  severely 
disapproved  at  the  time,  has  justified  itself.  In  Jaffna,  Point 
Pedro,  Trincomali,  Batticaloa,  Galle,  the  Mission  secured  ample, 
healthy,  and  commanding  sites.     The  prosperity  of  recent  times 


BREAKING  GROUND  IN  CEYLON  AND  INDIA    119 

is  largely  due  to  the  early  occupation  of  these  points  of  vantage. 
"  The  successors  of  the  fathers  have  often  wished  that  their  faith 
had  been  bolder  or  their  resources  larger,  but  never  that  they 
had  selected  other  places." 

***** 

Tamil  was  the  language  common  to  North  Ceylon  with  great 
part  of  Southern  India,  and  Jaffna  furnished  a  stepping-stone 
to  the  mainland.  Dr.  Coke  contemplated  the  occupation  of 
Ceylon  as  a  prelude  to  the  evangelization  of  India.  This  larger 
object  divided  the  attention  of  the  scanty  band  of  his  companions. 
In  1 8 15  James  Lynch,  at  Jaffna,  received  a  letter  from  English 
Methodists  in  Madras,  requesting  a  visit.  In  India,  as  else- 
where, Methodism  has  followed  the  British  flag  and  outrun  the 
missionary.  Arriving  in  January,  181 7,  after  preaching  at 
Negapatam  on  the  way,  he  found  there  a  Society  Class  of  a  dozen 
members,  led  by  a  Mr.  Robam,  who  was  also  a  Local  Preacher. 
Next  year  Lynch  took  up  his  residence  in  Madras.  In  1819, 
when  Ceylon  was  divided  into  its  two  Districts  (p.  113),  Madras, 
Bangalore,  and  Negapatam  appear  upon  the  Stations  attached 
to  the  Northern  District,  which  had  Lynch  for  its  Chairman  (at 
Madras).  This  unwieldy  arrangement  lasted  until  1824,  when 
the  "  Madras  District  "  was  detached  from  North  Ceylon,  with 
five  missionaries  assigned  to  each.  From  this  point  the  separate 
history  of  the  Mission  in  India  begins. 

In  April,  1822,  the  mother  church  of  Madras  Methodism  was 
opened  at  Blacktown  (now  Georgetown)— the  home  from  that 
day  to  this  of  an  influential  English-speaking  congregation.  Its 
erection  was  liberally  assisted  by  the  British  community,— especi- 
ally by  a  wealthy  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Bradford  Durnford, 
who  entertained  Mr.  Lynch  on  his  first  coming,  and  showed  till 
the  day  of  his  death  (in  1861)  an  unstinted  generosity  toward 
Methodist  work  in  the  city. 

Lynch  preached  to  the  natives  through  an  interpreter  {comp. 
p.  113).  The  English  residents  and  soldiers  needed  his  care  ; 
to  these  his  ministry  was  richly  blessed.  The  Eurasians  are 
numerous  in  Madras,  speaking  mostly  both  English  and  Tamil. 
Through  the  conversion  of  these  children  of  the  double  stock 
Christianity,  it  was  hoped,  would  be  conveyed  to  the  natives  : 
for  this  object  Lynch  and  others  earnestly  laboured.  Some 
useful  "  East  Indian  "  ministers  have  been  thus  enlisted  ;  but 
the  anticipations  cherished  in  that  direction  have  not  been  ful- 
filled.    Compelled  to  quit  the  field  in  1825,  Lynch  was  succeeded 


120  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

as  Chairman  by  Robert  Carver  {see  pp.  1 16,  1 17).  who  was  removed 
to  Madras  from  Jaffna— there  was  frequent  exchange  between  the 
two  Tamil  Districts.  Elijah  Hoole,  arriving  in  1820,  was  the 
earliest,  and  one  of  the  ablest  of  our  South  Indian  vernacular 
preachers.  He  merited  Richard  Watson's  commendation  : 
"  Some  need  the  spur,  others  the  rein.  You,  I  believe,  are  of  the 
latter  and  more  honourable  class."  Hoole  made  arduous  evangel- 
istic tours,  in  which  he  opened  up  a  wide  area  of  country  and 
gained  almost  everywhere  a  friendly  hearing.  His  Indian  career 
was  closed  by  illness  in  1828  ;  but  it  qualified  him  for  his  long  and 
eminent  service  in  the  Secretariat  at  home  {see  p.  31). 

Hoole  and  his  companion,  James  Mowat,  were  posted  out  at 
Negapatam  and  Bangalore  in  1821,  before  the  Mission  had  been 
fairly  planted  in  Madras.     This  tendency  to  dispersal,  with  the 
frequent  changes  resulting  from  it,  proved  a  long-lasting  hind- 
rance to  our  work.     Methodism  was  created  by  a  roving  evangel- 
ism ;     John  Wesley's  Preachers  were  itinerants  by  habit  and 
delight.     India  offers  illimitable  room  and  temptation  to  this 
mode  of  life.     Yet  India  is  a  field  in  which  nothing  can  be  accom- 
plished   without    concentration    and    concerted    action.     Our 
missionaries   learnt   this   lesson   by   painfully   won   experience. 
Bangalore  and  Negapatam  were  outposts  chosen  not  upon  any 
plan  for  missioning  the  heathen,  but  on  the  suggestion  of  resident 
English  Methodists  wishful  for  a  preacher  ;  through  their  aid  the 
missionaries  hoped  to  reach  the  people.     But  these  mvitations 
drew  the  acceptors  far  away  from  their  base  in  Madras,  and 
involved  them  in  English  work.     Our  slender  forces  were  scat- 
tered over  a  vast,  thickly  peopled  area  ;   nowhere  were  we  strong 
enough  to  make  a  continuous  impression  or  strike  an  effective 
blow.     There  was  little  division  of  labour  ;    busy  in  every  kind 
of  work,  the  missionary  could  rarely  attain  the  highest  skill  in 
any.     And  when  the  solitary  overtasked  man  broke  down  under 
the  tropical  sun,  his  station  remained  vacant  for  months,  some- 
times for  years,  and  his  work  went  to  pieces.     Effective  occupa- 
tion of  the  territory  marked  out  by  the  points  seized  during  1821, 
was  utterly  out  of  the  question.     Moreover,  each  new  station 
called  for  additional  outlay  in  plant,  which  the  Missionary  Com- 
mittee was  slow  to  sanction ;  while  the  frequent  casualties  and 
the  heavy  expenses,  greater  then  than  now,  of  voyages  between 
England  and  the  East,  aggravated  the  burdens  which  India  laid 
upon  the  Missionary  Fund,  at  a  time  when  other  fields  drained 
its  resources. 

The  question  of  educational  versus  evangeUstic  method  agitated 


BREAKING  GROUND  IN  CEYLON  AND  INDIA    121 

Madras  as  well  as  North  Ceylon  {see  p.  117).     On  the  one  side 
it  was  maintained  that  the  fortress  of  Hinduism,  impregnable 
as  it  appeared,  must  fall  in  time  before  the  direct  fire  of  gospel- 
preaching,  and  that  "  the  fooHshness  of  preaching  "  is  the  one 
means  appointed  in  God's  wisdom  for  spreading  the  Redeemer's 
kmgdom  ;     educationalists,   while  approving  the  open  assault, 
contended  that  to  carry  the  citadel,  its  walls  must  be  sapped  by 
the  slower  agency  of  the  Christian  school.     The  powerful  impres- 
sion made  by  Alexander  Duff's  advocacy  of  Western  education 
at  Calcutta  encouraged  this  latter  party  ;    Dr.  Duff  gave,  in  fact, 
a  new  turn  to  missionary  views  and  operations  throughout  India. 
The  era  of  discouragement  and  perplexity  culminated  in  the 
'forties,  when  the  Methodist  forces,  EngUsh  and  Indian,  were 
thinned  not  only  by  death  and  sickness,  but  by  the  secessions  of 
discontented  men  to  the  Anglican  Church.     Edward  Jonathan 
Hardey,  who  entered  the  work  in  1840  and  remained  faithful 
(dying  in  harness  in  1858)— a  "  frank,  cheerful,  generous  "  man, 
with  "  a  bodily  frame  which  appeared  incapable  of  fatigue,  rejoic- 
ing to  spend  and  be  spent  in  the  service  of  the  kingdom  of  God  " 
— describes  the  situation  plainly  in  a  letter  to  the  Committee 
dated  1849  :   "  There  has  been  so  much  retrenchment  during  the 
last  seven  or  eight  years,  that  we  are  surprised  that  you  keep  on 
all  the  stations.     By  so  doing  you  cripple  us  all.  .  .  .  We  are 
doing    everything    by    halves,    and    nothing    thoroughly.     Our 
scattered    position    effectually    prevents    our    working    in    con- 
cert. .  .  .  Concentration,     concentration,   concentration  only   will 
save   India."     He   deplores   the   amount   of   English   preaching 
expected  from  missionaries,  the  necessity  for  making  Superin- 
tendents of  young  men  unfurnished  in  the  language,  and  the 
attempts  to  adapt  "  the  three-years  system  "  to  the  mission-field. 
Dr.  Duff's  memorable  speech  of  1851  at  Exeter  Hall  enforced 
the  contention  of  this  outspoken  letter.     He  urged  the  Society 
not  to  multiply  weak  stations,  but  to  organize  its  forces  and 
"  adapt  the  means  to  the  end  "  ;    it  was  high  time,  he  said,  to 
take  the  problem  of  the  evangelization  of  India  seriously.     "  Look- 
ing round  upon  these  immense  multitudes,  comparing  them  with 
the  smallness  and  inadequacy  of  the  agency  brought  to  bear 
upon  them,  it  seems,  humanly  speaking,  like  the  attempt  by 
means  of  a  few  twinkling  tapers  to  turn  the  darkness  of  night 
into  meridian  brightness.  ...  It  looks  almost  like  preposterous- 
ness  run  mad." 

The  result  of  inadequate  methods  is  described  by  Ebenezer 
Jenkins,  when  in  1849,  after  four  years  in  the  country,  he  cries  : 


122  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

"  Where  are  our  native  Churches  ?  In  which  of  the  four  places — 
Madras,  Bangalore,  Negapatam,  and  Manargoody — have  we  made 
anything  like  a  permanent  impression  on  the  Hindu  population  ? 
We  were  surrounded  by  a  crowded  and  willing  people  ;  more 
than  occasionally  the  missionary  was  cheered  by  a  grateful  hear- 
ing .  .  .  but  no  system  was  in  operation  to  maintain  the  stand 
which  Truth  might  have  commanded ;  there  was  no  religious 
establishment  to  wall  round  and  protect  the  seed,  which  here 
and  there  betokened  promise."  Melnattam  illustrated  the  futility 
of  casual  and  discontinuous  effort.  It  is  a  large  village  lying 
40  miles  south-west  of  Negapatam.  Its  people — mostly  Roman- 
ists— sent,  about  1825,  a  deputation  to  this  latter  town,  asking 
for  a  teacher  ;  and  a  catechist  came,  followed  by  the  visits  of  the 
missionary,  whom  they  received  as  an  angel  from  heaven.  The 
villagers  made  at  first  astonishing  progress,  and  eagerly  gave  the 
site  for  a  chapel.  But  the  staff  of  the  District  was  inadequate — 
a  single  missionary  could  alone  be  spared  for  this  neighbourhood; 
repeatedly  the  station  was  derelict.  In  1851  Samuel  Hardey* 
writes,  after  a  visit :  "  The  almost  unfrequented  chapel,  the 
appearance  of  the  congregation,  the  unoccupied  Mission  House, 
and  the  garden  running  to  waste,  read  an  admonitory  lesson." 
In  too  many  other  spots  we  appeared  as  men  who  "  began  to 
build,  and  were  not  able  to  finish."  Sporadic  conversions  were 
not  enough  ;  the  means  were  wanting  to  build  up  a  Christian 
community.  The  overthrow  of  Hinduism  was  a  task  requiring 
sacrifices  and  efforts  such  as  the  Protestant  Churches  when  they 
commenced  the  attack  had  little  dreamed  of, — Methodism  least 
of  all.  The  host  of  Israel  stood  before  walls  which  no  trumpet- 
blowing,  no  seven-days'  perambulation,  would  bring  to  the 
ground.  In  learning  these  hard  lessons,  heroic  and  gifted  men 
toiled,  devoted  men  laid  down  their  lives  on  the  South  Indian 
field,  not  without  reaping  precious,  though  to  human  reckoning 
scanty  fruit. 

Thomas  Cryer  (1829-52),  a  man  of  intrepid  courage  and  flam- 
ing zeal,  was  worn  out  by  incessant  labour  and  self-denial.  Elias 
J.  Gloria  (1854-95) — the  most  popular  Tamil  preacher  Madras 
Methodism  has  ever  had — and  Joel  Samuel  (1856-79)  owed  their 

*  Samuel  Hardey  had  a  long  and  varied  missionary  career.  After 
labouring  in  India  from  1827-45,  and  again  from  1849-53,  s-nd  for 
some  time  when  detained  at  Mauritius,  ministering  there  with  great 
acceptance,  he  served  in  Australia  from  1854-60;  and  finally  (1861- 
78)  he  was  Chairman  of  the  Cape  Town  District  in  Africa.  In  his 
character  "  gentleness  and  dignity  "  were  "  beautifully  combined." 


BREAKING  GROUND  IN  CEYLON  AND  INDIA    123 

awakening  to  Cryer.  These  two,  who  had  been  scholars  of  Peter 
Batchelor  (1838-61  :  comp.  p.  169)  in  the  "  Head  Native  School  " 
at  Negapatam,  with  the  gifted  Abijah  Samuel,  Joel's  brother, 
were  our  first  Native  Ministers  in  India  ;  they  were  Christians 
of  the  second  generation.  The  work  of  Batchelor — a  quiet, 
skilful,  faithful  teacher — was  the  complement  to  that  of  Cryer. 
The  two  Hardeys  and  Ebenezer  Jenkins  {comp.  p.  31) — amongst 
the  ablest  missionaries  of  this  critical  period — have  already  been 
quoted  ;  their  work  prepared  for  a  better  day.  Dr.  Jenkins' 
chief  distinction  lay  in  English  preaching  and  higher  education. 

Thomas  Hodson  (1829-78  :  comp.  p.  181)  combined,  perhaps 
more  perfectly  than  any  man  we  have  named,  the  manifold  apti- 
tudes demanded  in  an  Indian  missionary  of  that  time.  He 
created  the  Mysore  District,  which  was  separated  from  Madras 
in  1848.  For  twenty-five  years  continuously  Mr.  Hodson  pre- 
sided over  this  Mission.  Its  development  exemplifies  the  benefit 
of  good  generalship  and  a  well-devised  and  stable  policy.  In 
1833  Hodson  came  to  Bangalore,  where  six  years  previously 
Tamil  work  had  been  commenced,  amongst  the  cantonment 
servants,  by  John  F.  England  (1823-31)  ;  but  Kanarese*  was 
the  language  of  the  people,  and  to  its  acquisition  Hodson  ad- 
dressed himself.  He  established  friendly  relations  between  the 
Wesleyan  Mission  and  the  Native  Government.  He  pushed  into 
the  interior  of  the  Kanarese-speaking  country,  gradually  spreading 
the  Mission  through  the  province  as  opportunities  and  means 
allowed,  with  well-judged  strategy,  and  secured  a  unity  of  action 
throughout  his  District  hitherto  unattained  in  our  South  Indian 
work.  By  the  close  of  the  period  we  are  narrating,  the  Mysore 
Mission  was  on  its  way  to  assured  prosperity.  Here  William  Arthur 
commenced  his  brilliant  course  [comp.  p.  30).  He  was  driven  from 
the  Mission-field  after  two  years  through  the  failure  of  his  eye- 
sight ;  but  his  observations  are  recorded  in  his  book  entitled 
A  Mission  to  the  Mysore,  which  distinctly  quickened  the  interest 
of  the  Methodist  public  in  India  and  its  Missions. 

In  1852  the  Missionary  Committee,  with  William  Arthur  now 
upon  its  Secretariat,  was  brought  to  face  the  situation  and  to 
recognise  that  the  Indian  Mission  must  be  greatly  strengthened, 
or  else  abandoned.  Six  additional  men  were  voted  to  the  ser- 
vice, while  the  distribution  of  the  staff  and  the  methods  of  the 

*  There  are  four  sister  languages  spoken  by  the  Dra vidian  peoples  of 
South  India  :  Tamil  to  the  south,  Telugu  to  the  north  of  Madras, 
Kanarese  in  the  inland  country  of  Mysore,  and  Malayalim  on  the  western 
coast. 


124  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

work  were  carefully  examined.  This  intervention  proved  the 
turning-point.  In  1854  Hodson  writes  :  "I  think  we  are  on 
the  eve  of  a  great  change  "  ;  Daniel  Sanderson  (1842-57) — 
our  best  Kanarese  scholar — returning  in  1855  to  the  field  after 
two  years'  absence,  reports  progress  in  nearly  every  particular. 
Dr.  Jenkins  is  filling  the  great  Blacktown  Chapel  to  overflowing  ; 
young  men  from  his  school  at  Royapettah  (Madras)  are  coming 
forward  for  the  ministry.*  William  Overend  Simpson — amongst 
the  noblest  men  and  greatest  Tamil  preachers  that  the  South 
Indian  field  has  known — arrived  about  this  time,  and  was  a  host 
in  himself.  The  stafi  was  still  insufficient  for  the  work  in  hand, 
and  several  of  the  southernmost  stations  remained  vacant ;  but 
a  fresh  impetus  was  given  to  the  whole  machinery,  and  courage 
and  hope  were  revived  throughout  the  field. 

In  1855  the  East  India  Company  began  to  foster  education  by 
the  offer  of  grants-in-aid  to  all  schools  of  tested  efficiency.  Ad- 
vantage was  taken  of  these  proposals  both  in  Bangalore,  where 
E.  J.  Hardey  was  already  projecting  a  Boys'  High  School,  and 
in  Madras,  where  the  "  Anglo-vernacular  Institution "  (now 
Wesley  College)  was  set  on  foot,  under  the  efficient  direction  of 
Arminius  Burgess  (1853-69).  The  Royapettah  Girls'  School  was 
started  in  1856,  with  provision  made  for  boarders,  Mrs.  Roberts, 
widow  of  the  late  District  Chairman,  being  its  first  mistress. 
Similar  beginnings  in  the  training  of  girls,  the  vital  necessity  of 
which  was  now  realised,  were  made  at  Trichinopoly,  Bangalore, 
and  elsewhere  [comp.  pp.  1 68-1 71). 

Urgent  appeals  were  made  in  1857  for  further  reinforcements 
of  the  missionary  staff,  which  were  terribly  emphasised  by  the 
outbreak  of  the  Mutiny  in  North  India.  An  increased  income 
justified  the  Committee  in  sending  ten  recruits.  At  last  the 
Madras  and  Mysore  Districts  might  be  said  to  be  tolerably 
manned.  The  fifth  decade  (1857-67)  opened  with  unmistakable 
signs  of  advance.  The  leaders  were  gifted  and  well-seasoned  men, 
A  varied  agency  was  being  brought  into  play,  capable  of  reaching 
both  sexes  and  many  sections  of  the  communty.  The  equipment 
was  better  than  at  any  time  before.  Above  all,  the  men  at  the 
front  were  reassured  of  the  sympathy  of  the  Church  at  home. 
The  nature  of  the  work  undertaken  and  the  battle  to  be  fought 
on  this  immense  field  was  coming  to  be  understood,  after  forty 
years'  experience.     At  last  the  Church  was  studying  to  suit  her 

*  Amongst  these,  Peter  J.  Evers  (1S53-S4),  and  the  brothers  James 
(1852-89)  and  George  Hobday  (still  living,  in  honoured  retirement),  call 
for  special  mention. 


EUROPE  AND  THE  MEDITERRANEAN         125 

methods   to   the   tremendous  task  which  India   imposed  upon 
her. 

The  Madras  District  (including  the  present  District  of  Nega- 
patam  and  Trichinopoly)  reported  in  1857  five  English  mission- 
aries, three  Tamil  or  East  Indian  ministers,  159  Church-members, 
683  scholars  in  all  grades  ;  the  Mysore  District,  with  9  English 
and  2  East  Indian  missionaries,  had  222  members  of  Society  and 
1,236  scholars. 


CHAPTER  X 

Europe  and  the  Mediterranean 

Methodism  has  sought  to  "go  to  those  who  need  her  most." 
Following  her  own  children  to  the  Colonies  and  seeking  the 
heathen  on  distant  shores,  she  has  paid  less  regard  to  the  needs 
of  the  old  Christian  lands  lying  nearer  home.  Yet  her  activities 
have  touched  the  Roman  Catholic  peoples  of  France,  of  the 
Spanish  peninsula  and  Italy,  and  have  found  scope  in  Protestant 
Germany  and  Sweden  besides. 

Gibraltar,  Spain,  and  Portugal 

In  1792,  shortly  before  the  outbreak  of  the  Great  War,  certain 
British  regiments  arrived  at  Gibraltar  from  Ireland  containing  a 
handful  of  Methodists,  amongst  whom  was  Andrew  Armour, 
whom  we  have  already  met  in  Ceylon  {see  p.  112).  The  singing 
of  these  pious  soldiers  in  a  private  room  attracted  outsiders,  who 
sought  admittance  ;  the  meetings  swelled,  until  120  worshippers 
were  gathered.  A  Methodist  Society  was  formed  numbering 
60  members,  and  before  long  a  chapel  was  built  to  hold  300  people. 
The  little  Church  lived  on  when  its  military  founders  were  re- 
moved ;  reporting  itself  in  1799  to  the  Conference  in  England, 
it  asked  for  a  minister.  James  M'Mullen  was  sent — not  till  1804 
— and  arrived,  with  wife  and  child,  to  find  the  yellow  fever  raging. 
First  the  babe  was  stricken  ;  then  the  parents.  Both  the  latter 
died  within  a  few  weeks  of  landing.  The  orphan  child  recovered  ; 
and,  returning  home,  was  adopted  by  Dr.  Adam  Clarke.  She 
grew  up  to  become  the  mother  of  the  famous  James  H.  Rigg. 

The  station  remained  vacant,  until  in  1808  William  Griffith  was 
appointed  ;  from  that  date  till  the  present  Gibraltar  has  always 
had   a   Preacher  ministering  to   British  soldiers   and   civilians. 


126  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

The  imperial  work  of  Methodism  for  the  Army  and  Navy  thus 
commenced  at  "  The  Rock  "  {comp.  p.  i8i). 

The  Missionary  Society  regarded  Gibraltar  as  the  starting- 
point  for  evangelizing  Spain.  William  Barber  was  stationed 
there  in  1825  as  a  second  missionary,  with  this  object  in  view  ; 
he  laboured  with  some  promise  of  success,  until  cut  off  by  yellow 
fever  in  1828.  The  experiment  was  repeated  on  the  appointment 
of  William  H.  Rule  (1832),  who  was  supplied  with  a  colleague  for 
English  work,  that  he  might  devote  himself  to  the  "  Spanish 
Department."  Rule  mastered  the  language,  and  toiled  with 
resolute  energy.  Beside  gathering  a  Spanish  congregation  and 
setting  up  schools  in  Gibraltar,  after  venturesome  inland  journeys, 
he  obtained  a  footing  at  Cadiz  ;  but  he  was  expelled  and  his 
work  suppressed  by  the  Romanists.  Dr.  Rule's  best  service  to 
Spain  was  done  in  the  way  of  Bible-circulation. 

The  Spanish  Department  at  Gibraltar,  ceasing  on  Rule's  retire- 
ment in  1 84 1,  was  revived  six  years  later  under  the  direction  of 
George  Alton,  with  the  aid  of  a  Spanish  convert  named  Giolma, 
who  became  Assistant  Missionary.  Alton  re-opened  the  mission 
at  Cadiz,  to  be  driven  out  in  his  turn.  Apart  from  the  Chaplaincy 
and  the  garrison  Church,  the  Spanish  schools  at  Gibraltar  remained 
the  only  permanent  Methodist  agency  in  the  South  of  Spain. 

The  Society's  Report  for  1869  speaks  of  Spain  as  "  a  field  of 
labour  wistfully  contemplated  "  from  Gibraltar  "  for  nearly  three- 
fourths  of  a  century."  An  English  thorn  in  the  side  of  Spanish 
patriotism,  the  fortress  of  Gibraltar  proved  no  point  of  vantage 
for  English  missionaries.  A  modest  attempt  was  now  to  be  made 
from  another  quarter.  William  Thomas  Brown  was  a  valued 
clerk  at  the  Mission  House  for  many  years.  His  heart  had  been 
drawn  toward  the  Spanish  sailors  frequenting  the  Port  of  London  ; 
he  had  acquired  their  tongue,  and  found  himself  useful  in  his 
work  for  Christ  amongst  them.  Offering  to  serve  the  Missionary 
Society  as  a  Lay  Agent  in  Spain,  he  was  sent  in  1868  to  Barcelona, 
where  an  opening  presented  itself,  and  when  recent  political 
changes  gave  promise  of  religious  liberty.  Brown  worked  quietly 
amongst  the  people,  setting  up  small  schools  and  gradually 
winning  esteem  and  confidence  ;  he  gathered  a  Methodist  Society, 
in  the  face  of  bitter  opposition.  In  1879  he  was  admitted  into  the 
Ministry,  and  moved  out  to  the  Balearic  Isles,  to  which  Methodism 
had  spread  from  Barcelona.  Franklyn  G.  Smith,  the  present 
Superintendent  of  the  Spanish  District,  was  appointed  to  Bar- 
celona in  1885. 

The  existing  Church-membership  of  361  in  three  Circuits,  with 


EUROPE  AND  THE  MEDITERRANEAN         127 

two  Assistant  Spanish  Ministers,  appears  no  great  return  for 
more  than  thirty  years  of  devoted  labour  ;  but  it  is  a  genuine 
success,  won  by  skill  and  patience  against  crushing  difficulties. 
Evangelical  teaching  has  taken  firm  root  in  this  corner  of  priest- 
ridden  Spain.  The  Methodist  schools  of  Barcelona  are  leavening 
a  large  district  of  the  city.  The  respect  which  the  Mission  has 
earned  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  the  insurrection  of  a  few 
years  ago,  in  which  neighbouring  CathoHc  establishments  were  des- 
troyed, the  populace  carefully  protected  the  Methodist  property. 
Religious  toleration  is  a  plant  of  slow  and  precarious  growth 
in  Spain.  Repeatedly  the  door  has  seemed  to  be  opening  for  the 
Gospel,  and  again  it  has  closed.  Madrid  was  occupied  for  a  short 
time  in  one  of  these  hopeful  seasons. 

On  the  western  side  of  the  Peninsula,  Methodism  found  entrance 
at  Oporto  simultaneously  with  Barcelona,  and  in  similar  fashion. 
In  1873  there  first  appeared  on  the  Stations  the  name  of  Robert 
H.  Moreton,  who  has  bravely  held  this  solitary  fort  till  the  present 
time.  His  labours  have  won  two  Portuguese  colleagues  for  the 
ministry,  and  a  Church  of  150  members.  Less  school-work  has 
been  done  in  Oporto  than  in  Barcelona,  and  more  popular  preach- 
ing, which  has  called  forth  at  times  tumultuary  opposition.  In 
this  great  Roman  Catholic  city  Methodism  stands  as  "  a  light 
shining  in  a  dark  place,  until  the  day  dawn  "  which  is  destined  to 
rise  over  the  Papal  lands. 

The  Mediterranean 

In  the  early  part  of  last  century  the  break-up  of  the  Turkish 
Empire,  and  the  consequent  opening  of  the  way  of  the  Gospel  in 
the  Nearer  East,  were  widely  expected.  Influenced  by  these 
anticipations,  the  Missionary  Societies  contemplated  the  speedy 
evangeUzation  of  the  Mediterranean  lands  under  Moslem  dominion. 
The  W.M.M.S.,  guided  by  Richard  Watson,  entered  earnestly  into 
these  projects  and  clung  to  them  tenaciously. 

A  Methodist  crusade  to  the  Holy  Land  was  in  contemplation  ; 
and  Charles  Cook  was  despatched  from  his  work  in  France  {see 
p.  129)  to  explore  the  field.  His  report  was  encouraging,  and  for 
nine  years  (1823-31)  Palestine  figured  in  the  Methodist  Stations  ;* 
but   occupation   was   found   impossible,   although   considerable 

*  So  eager  was  this  hope  in  regard  to  Palestine  that  a  group  of  young 
Preachers  commenced  the  study  of  Arabic  in  preparation  for  service 
there. 


128  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

donations  were  made  to  the  Society  for  this  sacred  object.     One 
day  the  opportunity  will  return. 

From  1824-43  Malta  accompanies  Gibraltar  in  the  list  of 
Stations,  under  the  heading  "  The  Mediterranean  Mission  "—at 
first,  "  Spain  and  the  Mediterranean."  This  post  was  maintained 
by  the  Missionary  Society  not  only  for  the  sake  of  the  British 
garrison,  but  because  of  the  position  of  Malta  at  the  gates  both 
of  the  Papacy  and  of  Islam.  But  the  way  did  not  open  then  in 
either  direction  ;  nor  did  the  Maltese,  who  are  amongst  the  most 
devoted  Romanists  in  the  world,  appreciate  Methodism.  In 
1844  the  missionary  was  therefore  withdrawn,  to  be  replaced 
some  years  later  by  an  Army  and  Navy  Chaplain. 

"  The  Mediterranean  Mission  "  included  two  other  important 
stations.  Zante,  in  the  Ionian  Isles  (then  a  British  Protectorate) 
—for  a  while  appearing  as  "  Zante  and  Greece  1  "—was  occupied 
in  1827,  on  the  invitation  of  a  handful  of  English  residents. 
Walter  Oke  Croggon  laboured  there  ably  and  assiduously  for  seven 
years,  seeking  a  foothold  on  the  mainland  of  Greece,  whose 
political  liberation,  it  was  hoped,  would  give  free  course  to  the 
Gospel.  But  the  Greek  Church,  both  on  the  island  and  the 
continent,  effectually  blocked  the  way  ;  and  the  Zante  Mission  was 
abandoned. 

From  1830-34,  in  the  time  of  Mehemet  Ali,  a  Methodist  Preacher 
was  stationed  at  Alexandria  with  a  view  to  penetrating,  on  the 
Egyptian  side,  into  Muhammadan  territory.  For  this  attempt 
also  the  time  proved  unripe.  The  four  stations  enumerated 
formed  part  of  a  comprehensive  plan  for  diffusing  evangelical 
Christianity  in  South  Europe  and  the  Near  East,  along  the  lines 
of  British  influence.  The  campaign  against  Islam  has  been  post- 
poned, but  cannot  be  renounced. 

France 

France  has  been  the  "  Samaria  "  of  British  Protestantism,— 
an  unreceptive  neighbour.  Dr.  Coke's  attempts  in  this  quarter 
we  have  already  noted  (p.  20).  The  Channel  Islands  supplied  a 
bridge  for  Methodism  into  France.  Hither  the  Methodist  Revival 
had  come  all  the  way  round  by  Newfoundland.  Pierre  le  Sueur,  a 
Jersey  trader,  who  was  brought  to  God  under  Coughlan's  ministry 
in  Harbour  Grace  {see  p.  37),  planted  Methodism,  about  1775,  in 
his  native  island  ;  here  Robert  Carr  Brackenbury  and  Adam 
Clarke  began  their  fruitful  labours,  under  Wesley's  direction, 
eleven  years  later.  From  the  islands  William  Mahy  (appointed 
to  "  France  "  in  the  Stations  of  1791)  and  Jean  de  Queteville — the 


EUROPE  AND  THE  MEDITERRANEAN         129 

latter  Coke's  companion  on  his  French  tour — carried  the 
Gospel  to  the  mainland  of  Normandy,  where  several  small  Meth- 
odist Societies  were  gathered  toward  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century  :  the  Minutes  of  1814  register  14  members  of  Society  at 
Bouville  in  France.  From  1816  onwards  French  stations  (in- 
cluding Brussels,  for  a  number  of  years)  are  found  in  the  list  of 
missionary  appointments.  These  represented  small  and  isolated 
Societies  along  the  Norman  and  Breton  coasts,  with  which  the 
Islanders  had  ties  of  relationship  and  commerce  ;  they  were 
visited  by  Preachers  from  Guernsey  and  Jersey.  Paris  was  first 
occupied  in  18 rg  ;  for  a  long  while  Methodism  had  in  this  city  a 
feeble,  strugghng  existence.  William  Toase,  the  agent  of  Coke's 
mission  to  the  French  prisoners  in  England  {see  p.  20),  was  made 
"  General  Superintendent  "  of  the  French  work  in  181 8,  and  gave 
to  it  a  wider  scope. 

The  appointment  of  Charles  Cook  (1820)  opened  a  new  prospect 
for  French  Methodism.  An  able  young  Englishman  and  a  true 
missionary,  Cook  gave  his  whole  heart  to  his  adopted  country, 
and  made  himself  to  the  French  as  a  Frenchman.  He  travelled 
throughout  southern  France  and  Switzerland,  and  found  a  soil 
congenial  to  Methodism  in  the  remote  Huguenot  villages  of  the 
Cevennes.  In  many  a  spot  the  dying  embers  of  Protestantism 
were  revived  by  his  preaching,  the  influence  of  which  extended 
far  beyond  the  limits  of  the  little  Methodist  congregations.  Re- 
vivals of  religion — not  wide  in  aiea  nor  large  in  numerical  results, 
but  intense  in  spirit  and  producing  a  beautiful  piety — attended 
Charles  Cook's  labours  and  those  of  the  preachers  he  raised  up. 
D'Aubigne,  the  historian  of  Protestantism,  writes  of  him  as  "  the 
John  Wesley  of  the  continent, — to  France,  Switzerland,  and 
Sardinia,  on  a  smaller  scale,  what  Wesley  was  in  his  day  to  Eng- 
land, awakening  the  attention  of  multitudes  to  the  vast  concerns 
of  reUgion  and  eternity."  The  apostle  of  French  Methodism,  Dr. 
Cook  was  spared  to  see  its  self-governing  Conference  established 
in  1852.  He  died  in  1858,  after  forty  years  of  arduous  toil  for  the 
salvation  of  France. 

The  French  was  the  earhest  Aflaiiated  Conference  (see  Chap- 
ter XL).  It  still  leans  financially  upon  the  Missionary  Society. 
The  brave  little  French  Conference  set  out  with  821  Church- 
members,  and  eighteen  Ministers  ;  those  numbers  now  amount 
to  1,770  and  thirty-two  respectively.  The  names  of  Gallienne, 
Lelievre,  Hocart,  Pulsford,  and  the  sainted  Emile  F.  Cook,  have 
lent  distinction  to  this  small  but  choice  scion  of  the  Methodist 
stock. 


130  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

French  Methodism  "  has  laboured  and  not  fainted  "  through 
a  long,  sultry  day  ;  her  time  of  reaping  will  come  in  due  season. 

Italy 

Italian  Methodism  dates  from  i860  and  the  War  of  Liberation. 
William  Arthur,  then  Missionary  Secretary  in  London  and  at  the 
height  of  his  vigour  {see  p.  31),  devoted  his  powerful  advocacy 
to  the  cause  of  Italy  ;  the  inception  of  the  Italian  Mission  was 
due  to  his  influence  and  statesmanship.  English  sympathies 
were  readily  enlisted  for  the  furtherance  of  the  Gospel  amongst 
the  people  who  had  given  Christian  civilisation  to  Western  Europe, 
but  who  had  lain  for  so  many  centuries  beneath  the  blight  of  the 
Papacy  and  of  foreign  oppression.  Florence,  Naples,  Parma, 
Padua,  Intra,  were  occupied  by  Methodists  during  the  first  decade. 
In  1870  the  new  Kingdom  of  Italy  recovered  her  capital ;  and 
our  Church  entered  Rome  on  this  event. 

The  Mission  found  its  leader  in  Henry  J.  Piggott,  who  has  given 
his  life  to  Italy  as  Charles  Cook  did  to  France.  Appointed  to 
that  country  in  1861,  Mr.  Piggott  lives  in  honoured  retirement  at 
Rome.  By  his  character  and  accomplishments  he  has  gained  a 
regard  not  readily  accorded  by  Italians  to  foreign  propagandists. 
Distinguished  converts  have  been  won,  including  Roman  priests 
in  high  office,  several  of  whom  have  become  effective  Methodist 
ministers  ;  and  to  the  poor  the  Gospel  has  been  preached. 

Methodism  has  spread  during  the  half-century  from  Domodos- 
sola  under  the  Alps  (where  the  former  Catholic  Church  has  been 
converted  into  the  Methodist  Chapel)  to  Palermo  in  Sicily — Spezia, 
Milan,  Cremona  being  its  chief  stations  (in  addition  to  those 
already  named)  in  the  Northern  Section,  and  Salerno,  Potenza, 
Aquila  in  the  Southern.  Our  Church  in  Italy  includes  at  the 
present  time  twenty-four  ministers,  of  whom  only  the  General 
Superientendent,  WilHam  Burgess  (formerly  of  Haidarabad  ;  see 
p.  185),  is  an  Englishman,  and  2,300  Church-members,  with  four  or 
five  times  as  many  adherents.* 

Germany 

Methodism,  which  owed  so  much  to  Germany  in  its  beginning, 
has  reacted  upon  its  benefactress.  In  the  year  1829  Christo- 
pher Gottlob  Miiller,  a  German  trader  resident  in  London  and  a 
Methodist  Class-leader  and  Exhorter,  visited  Winnenden  in  the 

♦The  "Free  Evangelical  Church  of  Italy" — a  native  body  of 
revolters  from  Romanism — has  recently  amalgamated  with  the  English 
Wesleyan  and  the  American  Methodist  Churches. 


EUROPE  AND  THE  MEDITERRANEAN         131 

Kingdom  of  Wiirttemberg,  his  native  place.  His  preaching 
brought  about  a  rehgious  awakening  in  this  town  ;  and  before 
he  returned  to  England  Miiller  formed  the  converts  gathered 
round  him  into  Methodist  Classes.  After  his  return  to  London 
the  Winnenden  Society  despatched  a  touching  letter  desiring 
Mr.  Miiller  for  their  pastor.  The  letter  speaks  of  "  many  souls 
being  awakened,  through  your  dear  brother  G.  Miiller,  from  their 
lukewarm  Christianity,  so  that  they  have  been  convinced  of  their 
sin  and  misery,  and  have  received  from  God  grace  and  forgive- 
ness of  their  sins."  In  compliance  with  this  request  Miiller  was 
commissioned,  in  183 1,  to  work  as  Agent  of  the  Missionary  Society 
in  Germany.  A  Church-membership  of  eighty  is  reported  from 
Winnenden  in  that  year  ;   by  1834  the  Society  numbered  324. 

Miiller  followed  the  old  Methodist  plan,  forming  by  visits  and 
preaching,  as  opportunity  afforded,  a  wide  Circuit  round  his  home, 
setting  on  foot  cottage-meetings,  and  selecting  Class-leaders  and 
Local  Preachers  amongst  the  converts,  who  generally  continued 
to  worship  in  the  Established  Lutheran  Church  and  received  its 
Sacraments.  Until  1854,  when  his  strength  failed,  Miiller  carried 
on  these  labours  indefatigably,  at  a  trifling  cost  to  the  Missionary 
Fund  ;  an  unordained  '  Agent,'  he  had  raised  up  a  Society  of 
1,100  members,  ministered  to  by  twenty  Local  Preachers.  This 
blessed  man  died  in  1858,  at  the  age  of  75,  "There  was,"  it  is 
said,  "  no  novelty  in  his  doctrine,  no  originality  in  his  illustra- 
tions ;  it  was  simply  the  power  of  an  earnest  Christianity  "  by 
which  he  "  captivated  the  people." 

Miiller's  activity  soon  excited  clerical  jealousy  and  political 
suspicions.  He  was  subjected  to  police  inquisition,  and  for  a 
while  imprisoned.  The  Class-meeting  was  interdicted,  and 
Methodist  organization  was  almost  paralysed.  Hence,  when 
Miiller's  labours  ceased  and  the  scattered  communities  he  had 
formed  were  no  longer  held  together  by  his  personal  influence, 
notwithstanding  the  vigorous  preaching  carried  on  by  his  fellow- 
labourers,  Methodism  quickly  declined.  In  1858  the  membership 
is  returned  at  only  200.  A  deputation  of  enquiry  was  sent  from 
England,  which  reported  on  the  defects  due  to  the  absence  of 
pastoral  oversight  and  Methodist  discipline,  but  recognised  at  the 
same  time  the  lasting  fruitfulness  of  Miiller's  ministry  and  the 
existence  of  a  sound  nucleus  in  Wiirttemberg  Methodism. 

On  this  report,  John  Lyth  was  put  in  charge  of  the  German  Dis- 
trict, which  he  superintended  for  six  years.  A  preacher  and 
pastor  of  experience,  an  excellent  scholar,  and  a  judicious  ad- 
jninistrator.  Dr.  Lyth  soundly  re-established  the  German^Mission 


132  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

and  extended  its  activities.  He  left  behind  him,  on  his  with- 
drawal, a  membership  of  close  upon  900,  well-regulated  and 
furnished  with  Methodist  ordinances.  Lyth  was  succeeded  by  a 
man  of  similar  spirit  and  power  in  John  C.  Barratt,  who  presided 
over  the  District  for  twenty-seven  years.  At  his  death,  in  1892, 
Germany  reported  a  membership  of  2,320,  in  thirty  Circuits  ex- 
tending as  far  east  as  Vienna  and  north-east  to  Magdeburg.  A 
particularly  fine  body  of  German  ministers  had  been  raised  up, 
many  of  whom  were  trained  at  the  little  College  formed  by  Mr. 
Barratt  at  Cannstatt,  in  which  Dr.  John  G.  Tasker  (now  of  Hands- 
worth)  taught  for  nine  years. 

The  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  of  Germany,  if  still  small  in 
size,  was  in  a  thriving  condition,  when  in  1897,  by  its  own  desire 
and  on  terms  mutually  honourable,  it  was  united  to  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  that  country,  which  was  a  comparatively 
numerous  body  and  in  close  touch  with  the  German  Methodism 
of  the  United  States.  From  this  date  "  Germany  ''  ceases  to 
appear  in  the  Reports  of  the  W.M.M.S.  "  The  severance  was  not 
without  pain  on  both  sides  ;  but  it  was  wholly  free  from  estrange- 
ment of  feeling  ;  and  the  sacrifice  was  made  in  the  true  interest 
of  the  work  of  God." 

Sweden 
The  first  twenty  years  of  the  Missionary  Society's  work,  from 
1813  onwards,  formed  a  period  of  essays  and  experiments.  The 
Committee  desired,  so  far  as  means  allowed,  to  enter  every  open 
door.  Its  policy  was  to  cast  the  Gospel  seed  as  widely  as  possible, 
"  knowing  not  which  "  of  its  scatterings  "  should  prosper,  whether 
this  or  that."  There  resulted  what  at  this  distance  of  time  ap- 
pears as  a  dissipation  of  force,  the  expenditure  on  dispersed  and 
isolated  plots  of  resources  required  for  the  due  cultivation  of  the 
fields  which  had  the  chief  claim  upon  the  Methodist  Church. 

Such  objection  may  easily  be  taken,  after  the  event,  to  the 
attempt  made  to  plant  Methodism  in  Sweden.  In  1826  John 
Raynar  Stephens  (afterwards  prominent  in  English  politics)  was 
sent  by  the  Conference  to  Stockholm,  on  the  request  of  a  few 
Enghsh  residents.  He  was  followed  in  1830  by  George  Scott,  a 
young  man  of  eminent  power  and  earnestness,  who  became  a 
good  Swedish  scholar  and  laboured  for  thirteen  years  with  a 
single-mindedness  which  earned  him  the  name  of  "  Stockholm 
Scott."  The  same  sort  of  opposition  arose  here  as  in  Wiirttem- 
berg  ;  but  the  persecution  was  more  dangerous,  because  in  this 
case  Methodism  planted  itself  in  the  capital  city  and  made  an 
impression  m  high  social  circles. 


SWARMS  FROM  THE  OLD  HIVE  133 

The  preaching  both  of  Stephens  and  of  Scott  excited  great 
attention.  Dr.  Scott's  ministry  was  arousing  and  soul-saving  ; 
it  provoked  to  a  wholesome  jealousy  many  of  the  Lutheran  clergy. 
But  though  a  good  Methodist  chapel  was  built  at  Stockholm,  not 
more  than  a  dozen  members  of  Society  were  gathered  at  any 
time  ;  and  the  Mission  was  closed  in  1843.  Shortly  before  this 
time  Dr.  Scott  had  visited  America.  In  appealing  there  for  aid 
to  his  work,  he  had  used  expressions  respecting  Swedish  religion 
which  brought  on  him  at  his  return  a  storm  of  obloquy,  before 
which  it  was  impossible  to  stand.  The  esteem  in  which  he  was 
held,  notwithstanding  this  outburst,  was  manifested  when,  sixteen 
years  later,  on  revisiting  Stockholm,  "  he  was  received  with 
enthusiasm  by  all  classes  ;  hundreds  of  people,  including  persons 
of  high  rank  as  well  as  clergymen,  hailed  him  as  their  spiritual 
father."  Swedish  Lutheranism  came  under  a  debt  to  Methodism 
on  Dr.  George  Scott's  account,  which  some  of  its  leaders  have 
frankly  acknowledged. 

*  «  *  ♦  4t 

British  Methodism  takes  a  comparatively  mild  interest  in  its 
European  Missions.  Our  American  cousins,  we  are  thankful  to 
observe,  have  been  much  keener  about  the  spread  of  the  Gospel 
in  Europe  ;  they  have  largely  supplied  our  lack  of  service.  This 
livelier  interest  is  due,  in  great  part,  to  the  influx  of  immigrants 
from  continental  Europe.  These  newcomers  and  their  descen- 
dants, converted  in  America,  have  been  eager  to  send  the  Gospel 
they  had  received  to  their  friends  at  home.  The  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  is  represented  in  France,  Italy,  North  and  South 
Germany,  Switzerland,  Norway,  Sweden,  Denmark,  Finland  and 
St.  Petersburg,  and  Bulgaria.  The  Report  of  its  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  for  1910  enumerates  a  Church-membership  in  these 
various  countries  amounting  to  close  upon  60,000,  which  forms 
more  than  a  third  of  its  entire  missionary  constituency. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Swarms  from  the  Old  Hive 

Chapter  V.  traced  the  work  of  the  pioneers  of  Methodism  in 
British  North  America  and  Australia  up  to  the  year  1833.  We 
resume  the  story,  carrying  it  to  the  epoch  of  the  Affiliated  Con- 
ferences, which  were  formed  simultaneously  on  these  two  remote 


134  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

colonial  fields,'  in  the  years  1854-55.  The  establishment  of  the 
French  Conference,  dating  from  1852,  is  also  included  in  this 
chapter.  The  colonial  churches,  in  respect  alike  of  numbers, 
spiritual  efficiency,  and  material  resources,  were  ripe  for  indepen- 
dence ;  at  the  same  time,  the  heavy  responsibilities  incumbent 
on  the  Mother  Church  for  Africa  and  the  Far  East  compelled  her 
to  seek  relief  from  every  burden  she  could  safely  devolve. 

Eastern  British  America 

Of  the  Maritime  Mission  Districts  out  of  which  the  E.B.A. 
Conference  was  formed  in  1855,  Newfoundland  was  the  eldest 
{see  p.  37)  ;  it  was  also  the  most  necessitous.  The  soil  was  poor, 
the  climate  severe  ;  the  wealth  of  the  island  lay  in  its  fisheries, 
which  afforded  a  hazardous  occupation  in  those  stormy  seas. 
Disaster  by  fire  and  hurricane  repeatedly  overtook  the  community, 
causing  in  1847  acute  distress,  which  again,  as  in  the  famine  of 
1830-33  {see  p.  39),  brought  spiritual  revival. 

In  1 84 1  a  new  departure  took  place  in  Newfoundland.  Hitherto 
the  work  of  Methodism  had  been  confined  to  the  better  populated 
south-eastern  shores.  "  Visiting  Missionaries  "  were  now  ap- 
pointed, to  travel  along  the  southern  and  north-eastward  coasts  ; 
such  itinerancy  was  only  possible  in  the  summer  months.  The 
scattered  fishing-folk  thus  reached — mostly  of  English  and  Pro- 
testant descent — were  found  destitute  of  spiritual  or  intellectual 
provision  ;  from  this  time  they  became  leavened  with  the  Gospel. 
A  third  Visiting  Missionary  was  sent  out  in  1845  to  the  summer- 
fishers  on  the  Labrador  Coast.  Settled  Churches,  however,  could 
rarely  be  formed  amid  this  sparse  and  roving  population. 

Between  1833  and  1854  the  Church-membership  advanced  from 
1,847  to  2,274,  the  number  of  Circuits  from  twelve  to  thirteen. 

Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick  were  countries  with  larger 
natural  resources,  and  received  during  this  period  a  steady  stream 
of  immigration.  The  former  trebled,  the  latter  doubled,  its  Metho- 
dist membership  in  the  twenty-one  years.  In  1851  the  Nova 
Scotian  District  was  divided  into  Eastern  and  Western,  the  former 
carrying  with  it  Cape  Breton  and  Prince  Edward  Island,  also 
Bermuda*,  which  in  1850  had  been  detached  from  the  Bahamas 
{see  p.  57)  and  united  with  Nova  Scotia. 

In  Enoch  Wood  (1826-88)  and  Samuel  Dwight  Rice  (1837-84) 
New  Brunswick  possessed  at  this  time  two  Methodist  leaders  of  a 

♦  Distant  as  this  island  is  from  Nova  Scotia,  communication  by  sea 
is  comparatively  easy.  Bermuda  proved  a  sanatorium  for  preachers 
suffering  from  the  bleak  North  American  climate. 


SWARMS  FROM  THE  OLD  HIVE  135 

high  order.  The  former  was  of  Lincolnshire  birth ;  the  latter 
belonged  to  a  well-known  New  England  family.  Wood  saw 
service  first  in  the  West  Indies,  but  had  been  compelled  to  seek 
a  colder  climate  ;  he  was  an  indefatigable  worker,  a  sagacious 
administrator,  and  a  man  mighty  in  prayer.  Rice  excelled  in 
the  gifts  both  of  mind  and  body  ;  but  he  contracted  through  the 
hardships  of  his  early  ministry  a  throat-affection  which  limited 
his  pulpit-service.  These  fellow-labourers  were  removed  in  1847 
to  Upper  Canada  {see  p.  139).  Richard  Knight,  who  commenced 
his  course  in  Newfoundland  (181 7-31),  and  had  presided  for  some 
time  over  the  Nova-Scotian  District — a  man  of  heroic  strength 
and  intense  spirituality — succeeded  Wood  in  the  Chairmanship 
of  New  Brunswick  ;  Knight  was  replaced  in  Nova  Scotia  by 
Ephraim  Evans,  brother  of  the  James  Evans  of  Indian  fame 
[see  p.  140).  Evans,  a  pioneer  in  the  Ontario  region,  was  trans- 
ferred from  Canada  to  the  Eastern  Provinces  in  exchange  for  Drs. 
Wood  and  Rice.  On  the  division  of  the  Nova-Scotian  District 
in  1 85 1,  Dr.  Evans  retained  the  Chairmanship  of  the  eastern  half, 
while  Dr.  Matthew  Richey,  restored  by  Canada  to  the  country 
of  his  early  labours  [see  p.  41),  took  charge  of  the  western  section. 
Subsequently,  when  a  leader  was  required  for  the  first  Methodist 
expedition  to  British  Columbia,  though  verging  on  old  age, 
Ephraim  Evans  volunteered  for  this  service,  and  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  Methodism  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  The  veteran  missionary, 
Isaac  Whitehouse,  the  Chairman  of  the  Bahamas  District,  re- 
turned to  Bermuda  after  its  transference,  and  associated  himself 
with  the  Methodist  leaders  of  North  America. 

The  mainland  Maritime  Districts  had  in  their  chiefs — Knight, 
Evans,  and  Richey — men  of  commanding  influence,  and  united 
in  counsel.  They  saw  that  the  time  was  come  for  their  people 
to  take  up  the  responsibilities  of  independence.  The  Missionary 
Committee  in  England  encouraged  this  purpose,  and  in  1855 
Dr.  Beecham  [see  p.  30)  sailed  for  Halifax  (N.S.)  commissioned 
to  constitute  a  Conference  of  Eastern  British  America,  on  the 
model  of  those  established  in  France  and  Australia.  He  made  the 
tour  of  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick,  meeting  the  several 
Synods  and  negotiating  "  with  the  wisdom  of  the  sage,  the  firm- 
ness of  the  judge,  the  accuracy  of  the  mathematician,  the  urbanity 
of  the  gentleman,  and  the  kindness  of  the  Christian  brother." 
Before  passing  on  to  Upper  Canada  [see  below),  Beecham  had  won 
the  assent  of  the  eastern  mainland  to  his  plans.  On  his  return 
from  the  west,  he  held  a  meeting  of  delegates  from  the  Maritime 
Districts  (including  Newfoundland),  in  which  the  new  Conference 


136  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

was  formally  constituted.  Over  13,000  Church-members  were 
reported  in  the  four  Districts,  employing  88  ministers  and  102 
Local  Preachers  ;  of  the  16  schools  registered,  15  were  in  New- 
foundland. The  islanders  at  first  demurred  to  amalgamation 
(politically,  Newfoundland  still  holds  aloof  from  the  Dominion 
of  Canada)  ;  but  they  were  happily  persuaded,  on  the  advice  of 
Richey  and  Knight,  to  throw  in  their  lot  with  their  neighbours. 

Not  till  1875  did  the  E.B.A.  Conference  unite  itself  with  that  of 
Canada.  In  1874  and  1883,  by  successive  unions,  the  various 
Methodisms  of  the  Dominion  were  welded  together.  Thus  "  the 
Methodist  Church  of  Canada  "  was  formed,  including  the  entire 
Methodist  flock  of  Christ  and  stretching  from  the  eastern  to  the 
western  ocean. 

Canada 

Methodist  Lower  Canada  had  been  separated  administratively 
from  Upper  Canada  in  1820,  under  the  circumstances  related  on 
p.  45  ;  it  remained  as  a  Mission  District  governed  by  the  British 
Conference  until  the  year  1854,  when  it  was  reunited  to  the  Upper 
Province.  The  history  of  Methodism  in  Lower  Canada  during  the 
twenty-one  years  covered  by  this  Chapter,  was  that  of  difficult 
but  steady  progress,  marked  by  few  salient  events.  The  (Roman 
Catholic)  French-Canadians  occupied  the  settled  districts.  The 
English  colonists  of  this  period  were  mainly  pioneers  and  back- 
woodsmen ;  in  seeking  them  out,  the  Preachers  spent  a  life  of 
adventure  and  privation.  In  1 835-36  a  notable  revival  took  place 
— most  marked  in  Montreal  and  Stanstead,  in  which  latter  town 
William  Squire*  was  exercising  "  his  tender  and  persuasive  minis- 
try." Helpers  came  in  from  neighbouring  Churches,  and  British, 
American,  and  Canadian  reapers  plied  the  sickle  side  by  side. 

The  progress  of  the  work  was  checked  by  the  political  rebellion 
of  1837  {see  p.  137),  which  awakened  the  dormant  French  and 
English  antagonism,  the  turmoil  being  aggravated  by  raids  from 
the  United  States.  A  period  of  religious  stagnation  ensued.  To 
the  Canadian  Conference  formed  in  1854  Eastern  Canada  con- 
tributed something  under  4,000  Church  members  and  20  ministers. 
In  Quebec  the  Church  numbered  less  than  300  ;  in  Montreal, 
close  upon  700. 

In  Upper  (Western)  Canada  the  course  of  Methodism  did  not 
yet  run  smooth.  The  Union  concluded  with  the  British  Confer- 
ence in  1833  [see  p.  45)  eventuated  in  a  new  rupture.     Formerly 

*  William  Squire  (1825-52).  like  Enoch  Wood,  was  an  English  mis- 
sionary to  the  West  Indies,  who  removed  to  North  America  in  search 
of  health. 


SWARMS  FROM  THE  OLD  HIVE  137 

the  contention  lay  between  English  and  American  interests  ;  now 
the  old  jealousy  of  Anglicanism  and  Dissent  broke  out  on  this 
distant  field.  The  trouble  commenced  some  years  before  the 
Union,  through  a  contemptuous  attack  on  Methodism  made  by 
a  clerical  dignitary.  Egerton  Ryerson  replied  with  a  spirit  and 
effectiveness  which  aroused  public  attention,  and  brought  the 
young,  unknown  Preacher  at  once  into  fame.  The  writer  was 
the  third  of  five  brothers  who  entered  the  Methodist  ministry — 
all  men  of  marked  ability.  The  father  was  a  United  Empire 
Loyalist,  and  a  staunch  Anglican  ;  Egerton  inherited  his  gallant 
spirit,  but  entertained  opposite  views  in  Church-politics  ;  to  his 
mother  he  owed  his  devout  simplicity  and  love  of  learning. 
When  scarcely  out  of  his  Probation,  he  was  appointed,  in  1829, 
editor  of  the  Connexional  newspaper,  the  Christian  Guardian, 
which  under  his  direction,  adopting  the  watchword  of  "  Liberty 
and  Equal  Rights,"  became  the  most  popular  journal  in  the 
Province.  The  chief  bone  of  contention  was  "  the  Clergy  Reserve 
Fund."  In  the  early  days  of  the  Colony  a  seventh  part  of  the 
public  lands  had  been  reserved  by  law  for  the  support  of  "  the 
Protestant  Clergy."  According  to  "  the  Church  "  party,  this 
expression  signified  the  Anglican  clergy  and  no  others  ;  the 
Presbyterians  and  Methodists  argued  for  the  inclusion  of  all 
Protestant  ministers  of  religion.  Ryerson  flung  himself  into  the 
struggle,  and  gathered  allies  from  many  quarters.  Some  of  these 
were  involved  in  the  rebellion  of  1837,  and  association  with  them 
brought  a  cloud  on  Ryerson's  reputation,  which,  however,  his 
loyal  bearing  soon  dispelled  in  Canada.  The  controversy  was 
ultimately  settled  by  the  appointment  of  a  Government  Com- 
mission, on  whose  recommendation  the  Clergy  Fund  was  utilised 
for  common  public  purposes. 

Meanwhile  misgivings  arose  in  England  respecting  the  anti- 
Anglican  Colonial  party.  British  Methodism  retained  much  of 
the  filial  regard  cherished  by  its  founder  for  the  Established 
Church,  under  whose  shadow  it  had  grown  up.  Its  leaders  took 
umbrage  at  the  attitude  of  the  Colonials  toward  this  venerable 
Communion  ;  Ryerson  had  raised  the  flag  of  "  Disestablishment," 
the  very  mention  of  which  was  forbidden  at  home.  The  British 
Conference  felt  itself  compromised  by  the  entanglement  of 
Canadian  Methodism  with  "  party  politics."  The  situation  was 
complicated  by  a  dispute  over  the  appropriation  of  a  pecuniary 
grant  made  by  the  Canadian  Government  for  "  missionary  work 
amongst  the  Indians  and  destitute  settlers."  Dr.  Alder,  a  former 
Canadian  minister,  was  sent  over  from  the  London  Mission  House 


138  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

with  the  hope  of  allaying  the  strife.  His  remonstrances  were 
unavailing  :  "  Are  you  sure  " — so  Ryerson  challenged  him  in 
the  Guardian — "  that  you  are  called  of  God  to  make  Methodism 
an  agency  for  the  promotion  of  a  national  establishment  in  this 
new  country,  in  the  teeth  of  an  overwhelming  majority  of  the 
inhabitants  ?  .  .  .  Mr.  Wesley  and  his  coadjutors  left  their  de- 
liberate judgment  that  '  there  is  no  instance  of,  nor  ground  at 
all  for,  a  national  Church  in  the  New  Testament.'  .  .  .  How  can 
any  true  Wesleyan  convert  that  into  a  matter  of  faith,  for  which 
'  there  is  no  instance  in  the  New  Testament '  ?  "  Attempts  to 
restrain  Ryerson's  pen  were  resented  by  the  Canadians  and 
precipitated  the  rupture,  which  came  about  in  1840.  With 
earnest  professions  of  amity,  the  union  therefore  was  dissolved. 
Fourteen  of  the  ministers  present  at  the  Canadian  Conference — 
including  the  revered  William  Case  {see  pp.  43-5),  Joseph  Stinson, 
Ephraim  Evans,  and  Matthew  Richey — took  part  with  the  British 
Conference,  and  separated  from  their  brethren  amid  a  scene  of 
"  indescribable  emotion."  The  Canadian  Conference  at  this  time 
numbered  75  ministers,  with  14,000  Church-members. 

The  parting  did  not  prove  permanent.  By  the  year  1846  the 
Canadian  battle  for  religious  equality  was  won  ;  the  passions  it 
engendered  quickly  died  down  ;  and  the  Christian  Guardian  pro- 
claimed a  truce.  Dr.  Ryerson's  energies  were  absorbed  in  the 
new  office  of  "  General  Superintendent  of  Schools,"  which  he 
filled  for  many  years  with  eminent  ability.  The  separation  of 
1840  had  left  behind  it  no  rancour,  and  was  soon  regretted  on 
both  sides.  A  formidable  Adventist  propaganda*,  introduced 
from  the  United  States,  disturbed  Methodism  throughout  Canada  ; 
this  trouble  quickened  the  desire  for  reunion. 

Dr.  Alder  appeared  once  more  on  the  scene,  under  happier 
auspices  ;  he  was  invited  to  preside  over  the  Canadian  Confer- 
ence of  1847,  which  Richey  also  attended  as  Chairman  (under 
the  British  Conference)  of  the  District  of  Lower  Canada,  and 
Enoch  Wood  from  New  Brunswick — both  helping  to  make  peace. 
The  cause  of  the  old  quarrel  had  disappeared  ;  the  two  Canadas, 
with  their  common  task  in  the  Missions  to  the  Indians,  had 
everything  to  gain  by  amalgamation.  The  constitution  of  1833 
{see  p.  45)  was  restored  by  unanimous  consent,  on  the  under- 
standing that  the  President  of  the  Canadian  Conference  and  the 
Secretary  of  Missions  should  be  annually  appointed  by  the  British 

♦  The  Adventists  proclaimed  the  imminence  of  the  Second  Coming 
of  Christ  ;  but  they  associated  with  their  Millenariamsm  other  tenets 
destructive  of  Church-life  and  Methodist  order. 


SWARMS  FROM  THE  OLD  HIVE  139 

Conference  ;  that  the  British  Missionary  Society  should  subsidise 
and  control  the  Indian  Missions,  and  the  pioneer  work  in  new 
settlements  ;  but  that  in  other  respects  the  Canadian  Conference 
should  be  wholly  independent.  The  Colonial  Circuits  included  in 
the  "  Missions  "  of  Western  Canada  passed  from  British  to 
Canadian  jurisdiction.  "  The  Wesleyan  Conference  in  Canada  " 
was  thus  re-established,  with  a  ministry  numbering  160  and  a 
Church-membership  of  nearly  22,000.  The  Church  had  grown  in 
numbers  by  50  per  cent,  during  the  interval  of  separation.  A 
period  of  great  advance  followed  on  this  reconciliation.  The 
country  was  prosperous,  and  the  Church  made  strenuous  efforts 
to  overtake  the  march  of  immigration.  The  smooth  working  of 
the  Connexional  machinery,  amid  no  ordinary  possibilities  of 
friction,  was  largely  due  to  the  wise  administration  and  perfect 
temper  of  Dr.  Enoch  Wood,  who  was  brought  over  from  New 
Brunswick  {see  p.  134)  to  be  made  Superintendent  of  the  Western 
Missions,  and  served  in  this  office  until  the  close  of  his  lengthened 
ministry. 

A  further  devolution  came  about  a  few  years  afterwards.  In 
1852  the  British  W.M.M.S.  proposed  to  hand  over  its  Hudson 
Bay  Mission  {see  p.  140)  to  the  Canadian  Conference  ;  a  couple 
of  years  later  a  scheme  was  framed  for  incorporating  the  Indian 
Missions  of  the  North-west,  and  the  whole  work  of  the  Lower 
Canadian  District,  with  the  same  body.  These  plans,  drawn  up 
by  Dr.  Beecham  and  approved  by  the  British  Conference,  were 
carried  into  effect  in  1854,  a  year  previously  to  the  formation  of 
the  Conference  of  the  Maritime  Provinces  {see  pp.  135-6).  By  the 
next  year,  the  entire  charge  of  Methodism  in  North  America  had 
passed  from  the  hands  of  the  Mother  Church  to  those  of  her 
well-grown  and  capable  daughters.  In  1855  the  Canadian  Con- 
ference, after  the  above  enlargements,  comprised  262  mmisters, 
and  something  short  of  40,000  Church-members. 

Canadian  Missions  had  been  distinguished  as  "  Domestic  "  and 
"  Indian."  The  former,  concerned  with  the  evangelization  of 
the  frontier  settlements,  supplemented  the  work  of  the  Church 
in  the  older  colonial  Districts.  As  the  "  Missions  "  promoted  by 
the  Society  in  England  grew  into  self-supporting  Churches,  they 
were  transferred  to  the  list  of  colonial  "  Circuits,"  while  the  mis- 
sionaries pushed  out  to  the  frontiers.  A  continual  readjustment 
thus  went  on  between  British  and  Colonial  jurisdiction,  until  in 
1854  the  dual  control  ceased,  as  we  have  related. 

The  commencement  of  the  Indian  Missions,  in  1822,  has  been 
already  narrated  {see  p.  44).     William  Case  and  Joseph  Stinson 


140  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

{see  p.  46)  wei-e  their  two  foster-fathers.  The  latter — an  English- 
man, whose  ministry  extended  from  1823  to  1862 — ranks  amongst 
our  missionary  heroes.  Inured  to  the  hardships  and  perils  of 
the  wilderness,  with  a  cultivated  mind,  a  winning  address,  and 
great  administrative  talent,  he  was  well-adapted  to  the  work 
amongst  the  native  tribes.  An  efficient  band  of  helpers  was 
raised  up,  many  of  them  of  Indian  birth.  The  shy  Redskins, 
retreating  before  the  advance  of  the  colonists,  were  tracked  to 
their  forest  homes,  and  the  word  of  life  was  brought  to  them. 
Industrial  schools  were  opened,  in  which  their  children  were 
trained  to  habits  of  steady  labour  and  domestic  comfort,  along 
with  Christian  faith.  Alas,  the  trader  followed  in  the  preacher's 
trail,  purveying  the  deadly  "  fire-water,"  which  too  often  blighted 
his  work  and  produced  a  worse  than  heathen  savagery.  But 
through  the  united  efforts  of  the  missionary  Churches,  the  Indians 
on  British  territory  have  been  in  good  measure  reclaimed,  and 
there  is  hope  that  the  race  may  be  saved  lor  Christendom  and 
civilisation.  The  Government  has  consulted  for  their  interests 
and  striven  to  deal  fairly  by  them  ;  in  many  instances,  the 
missionaries  have  acted  as  mediators  and  protectors. 

The  Hudson  Bay  (Indian)  Mission  originated  in  1837,  apart 
from  that  of  West  Canada.  The  famous  Trading  Company  of 
this  region,  recognising  the  commercial  benefit  of  sound  mission- 
ary work,  in  1837  proposed  to  the  W.M.M.S.,  on  favourable  terms, 
the  planting  of  Missions  to  the  Indians  at  their  mercantile  sta- 
tions, which  extended  far  beyond  the  Colonial  borders.  Accord- 
ingly, in  the  spring  of  1840,  James  Evans  (brother  of  the  Ephraim 
already  referred  to  :  see  p.  135)  was  instructed  to  proceed  to 
Norway  House  at  the  head  of  Lake  Winnipeg — then  a  lonely 
fort  of  the  H.  B.  Company — which  was  made  the  centre  of  the 
new  enterprise.  Evans  had  already  rendered  ten  years'  excellent 
service  amongst  the  Indians  of  Upper  Canada.  He  was  joined 
by  three  young  missionaries  from  England  :  one  of  these  was 
Robert  Terrill  Rundle,  who  penetrated  a  thousand  miles  further 
west,  to  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Edmonton  (in  Alberta), 
and  acquired  a  marvellous  influence  over  the  tribes  bordering 
on  the  Rocky  Mountains.  He  returned  to  England,  broken 
down,  after  eight  years  of  missionary  work  ;  but  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  in  1896,  Rundle's  name  was  still  revered  by  the  Indians 
of  the  Saskatchewan  country. 

Education,  here  as  elsewhere,  was  the  handmaid  of  evangelism. 
James  Evans  earned  the  gratitude  of  the  whole  Indian  people 
by  his  invention  of  the  Syllabic  Characters  for  the  Cree  language. 


SWARMS  FROM  THE  OLD  HIVE  141 

This  was  a  stroke  of  genius.  The  system  was  so  simple  that  the 
dullest  native  could  learn  it ;  and  so  perfectly  adapted  to  Red 
Indian  vocalisation,  that  it  could  be  applied  to  all  the  indigenous 
dialects.  The  Evans  Syllabary  has  immensely  facilitated  the 
printing  of  Scripture  and  the  production  of  native  literature. 
The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  utilising  his  discovery  were  such 
as  hardly  another  man  than  James  Evans  would  have  surmounted. 
Paper  and  ink,  type  and  printing-press  alike  were  wanting. 
Birch-bark  served  him  for  paper,  as  it  did  our  Saxon  forefathers  ; 
ink  he  manufactured  from  a  mixture  of  soot  and  sturgeon-oil ; 
a  jack-screw  was  manipulated  to  do  the  work  of  the  press.  He 
collected  from  the  traders  the  lead-foil  in  which  their  consign- 
ments of  tea  were  packed  ;  melting  this  down,  he  succeeded, 
with  infinite  pains,  in  moulding  and  casting  his  type.  With 
such  rude  apparatus  this  indomitable  man  printed  portions  of 
Scripture  and  simple  hymns,  in  sufficiency  for  the  use  of  his 
people.  Education  now  went  on  apace.  Wandering  hunters 
carried  the  wonderful  art  of  writing  and  reading  to  the  remotest 
corners  of  the  continent ;  and  the  message  of  salvation  was 
spelled  out  by  lonely  wigwam  fires,  where  no  missionary's  foot 
had  ever  trod. 

Australasia 
When  Joseph  Orton  was  sent  out  to  take  charge  of  the  Societies 
in  New  South  Wales,  the  AustraUan  Mission,  from  the  causes 
indicated  in  Chapter  IV.,  had  become  almost  the  despair  of  the 
Mission  House.  Orton  writes  :  "  When  I  arrived  in  December, 
1 83 1,  the  cause  was  indeed  low,  with  but  little  prospect  of  success, 
excepting  in  Van  Diemen's  Land."  After  fifteen  years'  labour] 
the  whole  membership  of  the  District  amounted  to  only  one 
hundred  and  sixty  persons.  And  amongst  this  small  constitu- 
ency drastic  disciphne  was  necessary  ;  "  weeping  Hke  a  child  " 
as  he  presided  over  his  first  Synod,  the  new  Chairman  did  his 
duty  manfully.  From  this  date  a  new  era  began.  Vigour  was 
infused  into  the  work  of  the  Mission  both  in  town  and  country  ; 
its  property  was  set  upon  a  sound  basis  ;  pubhc  respect  was 
recovered  ;  and  relations  of  confidence  were  restored  between 
the  missionaries  and  the  directorate.  In  the  four  years  of  Or- 
ton's  administration  the  Society  increased  threefold  in  Sydney, 
and  by  fourfold  in  the  District  at  large.  In  1836  Van  Diemen's 
Land  was  made  a  separate  District,  taking  Orton  for  its  Chairman 
who  now  left  behind  him  in  New  South  Wales  "  a  most  loving 
people."  This  courageous  and  saintly  man,  who  saved  Austra- 
Han  Methodism,  had  permanently  damaged  his  health  through 


142  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

hardships  endured  earlier  in  the  West  Indies  (1826-30).  He 
laboured  a  few  years  longer  in  Tasmania,  introducing  Methodism 
at  Melbourne  in  1836-40  {see  p.  145),  and  died  off  Cape  Horn 
on  his  voyage  to  England  in  1842. 

John  M' Kenny,  who  had  been  transferred  from  Ceylon  {see 
pp.  78,  79),  consohdated  and  extended  Orton's  work  at  Sydney  ; 
in  the  eight  years  of  his  Chairmanship  the  N.S.W.  District  multi- 
plied its  membership  five  times.  Five  recruits  arrived  along 
with  M' Kenny,  including  Daniel  J.  Draper  {see  p.  144),  along 
with  Frederick  Lewis,  a  brilhant  preacher"  full  of  fire  and  love." 
WiUiam  Butters  {see  p.  146)  preceded  these  by  a  couple  of 
years.  By  the  year  1844,  when  M' Kenny  laid  down  his  office 
Methodism  had  reached  the  younger  Colonies  :  Adelaide  and 
Perth  were  included  in  his  diocese,  and  Melbourne  in  the  Van 
Diemen's  Land  District. 

A  single  example  will  show  how  the  Church  spread  through 
the  swiftly  multiplying  settlements,  when  disciphne  and  con- 
fidence were  once  estabhshed.  In  1837,  Jeremiah  Ledsham,  a 
zealous  and  able  Irish  Local  Preacher,  settled  at  Maitland,  a 
small  town  situated  on  Hunter's  River,  far  to  the  north  of  Sydney. 
Finding  in  his  new  home  no  public  religious  ordinances,  with  the 
aid  of  a  Methodist  cabinet-maker  he  discovered,  Ledsham  fitted 
up  a  disused  bilhard-room  for  Divine  service,  and  invited  his  neigh- 
bours to  hear  the  Gospel,  holding  public  prayer-meetings 
also  twice  a  week.  God's  blessing  was  on  His  servant's  work  ; 
and  a  Society-class  was  carefully  formed  out  of  the  seekers  for 
salvation.  A  chapel  now  was  wanted  ;  the  little  congregation 
raised  for  the  purpose  nearly  ;^30o,  which  was  doubled  by  the 
assistance  of  the  Sydney  Methodists,  and  of  a  Government  grant- 
in-aid  ;  and  the  humble  sanctuary  was  opened  free  of  debt. 
All  this  had  been  accomplished  before  any  missionary  appeared 
in  Maitland,  so  that  when,  in  1849,  Jonathan  Innes  was  appointed 
as  minister,  he  found  a  healthy  Church  already  in  being  and  the 
nucleus  of  a  Methodist  Circuit  provided. 

To  succeed  John  M' Kenny  William  B.  Boyce  {comp.  pp.  31,  90) 
was  sent  from  England  in  1845,  with  the  enlarged  authority  of 
"  General  Superintendent  of  the  Australian  and  Van  Diemen's 
Land  District."  "  Australia  Felix "  (afterwards  Victoria), 
"  South  Australia,"  and  "  Western  Australia  "  formed  sections  of 
this  prodigious  diocese.  Boyce,  now  at  the  height  of  his  un- 
common powers,  proved  equal  to  the  responsibility.  The  work 
of  evangelization  and  Church-extension  went  on  apace  in  all 
directions.     Other  helpers  came  on  the  field  about  ^  this  i.  time. 


SWARMS  FROM  THE  OLD  HIVE  143 

who  proved  themselves  laborious  missionaries  and  master-builders 
of  the  Church — amongst  them  John  Eggleston,  Henry  H.  Gaud, 
William  Longbottom,  John  A.  Manton.  A  fine  and  relatively 
large  body  of  Local  Preachers  was  raised  up  in  the  Colonies,  by 
whose  aid  Methodism  was  enabled  to  overtake  the  population, 
which  poured  in  at  an  unexampled  rate,  and  ranged  over  the 
vast  hinterland.  The  memory  of  its  pioneer  Local  Preachers 
is  cherished  by  Australian  Methodism  to  this  day  with  gratitude 
and  reverence.  The  work  of  those  creative  years  owed  much  of 
its  success  to  the  generalship  of  William  Boyce.  His  sagacity 
and  shrewd  mother-wit  were  invaluable  in  dealing  with  the 
knotty  questions  of  ecclesiastical  economy  and  the  unconven- 
tional situations  which  arose. 

Western  Australia,  occupied  in  1829,  is  the  oldest  of  the  British 
Colonies  on  the  mainland,  next  to  New  South  Wales  ;  but  it  has 
been  the  slowest  in  development.  For  eleven  years  a  single 
clergyman  and  a  single  schoolmaster  had  to  suffice  for  the  religious 
needs  of  the  town  of  Perth,  and  of  the  squatters  spread  over  the 
neighbouring  country.  A  Methodist  Preacher  had  long  been  in 
request,  when  in  1840  John  Smithies,  who  had  seen  service  in 
Newfoundland,  was  despatched  to  "  Swan  River," — chiefly,  how- 
ever, with  a  view  to  missioning  the  Aborigines.  There  Smithies 
remained,  solitary,  for  twelve  long  years.  The  situation  was 
heart-breaking.  "  We  are  weary,"  he  writes  in  1847,  "  and 
ought  to  be,  of  being  shut  up,  of  having  our  hands  tied,  of  going 
through  a  monotonous  work  from  day  to  day,  just  holding  our 
position."  Single-handed  as  he  was,  this  earnest  missionary, 
while  ministering  to  the  colonists,  gathered  into  an  industrial 
school  the  wild  native  children,  and  taught  them  so  efficiently 
that  the  Anglican  Bishop  of  Adelaide,  visiting  the  place  in  1850, 
testifies  that  "  more  had  been  well  done  "  for  the  native  people 
"  there  than  in  any  of  the  colonies  eastward  "  [comp.  pp.  48,  95, 
145).  About  this  time  the  colonial  work  at  Perth  became 
encouraging  ;  a  second  minister  was  appointed  in  1852.  In 
1855  "  Western  Australia  "  was  constituted  a  separate  District, 
including  four  Circuits  :  it  was  still,  however,  something  of  a 
skeleton,  containing  but  67  Church-members,  with  two  ministers. 
The  Colony  numbered  5,000  white  people. 

The  first  party  of  immigrants  to  South  Australia,  arriving  in 
1836,  included  a  number  of  Methodists,  who  forthwith  formed 
themselves  into  two  Classes — for  men  and  women — and  began 
to  hold  open-air  services  by  way  of  public  worship.  There  being 
no  ordained  Minister  within  reach,  the  Society  chose  quarterly 


144  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

one  of  their  number  to  act  as  Superintendent  of  their  meetings, 
and  to  administer  the  Sacraments.  The  arrangement  led  to 
bickering  :  "  We  could  not  agree,"  said  one  of  the  party  later 
"  who  should  be  Superintendent.  But  God  pitied  us  and  sent  us 
a  minister,  by  wrecking  one  upon  our  coast  1  "  This  was  William 
Longbottom,  whose  health  had  failed  after  four  years'  work  in 
India  (1830-34),  and  who  was  now  appointed  to  Western  Australia 
(Smithies,  as  we  have  related,  took  Longbottom's  place  there). 
His  ship  went  ashore  below  Encounter  Bay.  No  lives  were  lost ; 
but  the  party  suffered  extremely  in  the  ten  weeks'  journey,  much 
of  it  on  foot,  which  brought  them  to  Adelaide.  Here  Longbottom 
found  an  organized  Church,  with  a  ready-made  staff  of  Class- 
leaders  and  Local  Preachers,  wanting  only  a  minister  at  their 
head.  The  people  would  not  hear  of  parting  with  the  man  of 
God  so  strangely  sent  them  ;  he  received  permission  to  remain. 
Longbottom  proved  a  nursing-father  to  this  infant  Church  ; 
but  his  recent  hardships  had  shaken  his  delicate  health  ;  within 
two  years  he  was  obliged  to  remove  to  Tasmania.  Ill-health 
compelled  the  retirement  of  his  successor  in  turn.  Deprived  of 
its  ministers,  the  Adelaide  Church  was  all  but  destroyed  by 
schism,  so  that  its  name  disappears  from  the  Minutes  of  1844. 
At  this  juncture  Longbottom,  finding  his  strength  partially  re- 
stored, returned  to  South  Australia.  Before  his  superannuation 
(1846),  the  breach  was  healed  and  Methodism  re-established  in 
the  Colony. 

In  the  year  last-named,  Daniel  James  Draper  {see  p.  142)  was 
appointed  to  Adelaide,  with  an  Assistant,  and  found  a  Circuit 
laid  out  for  him  130  miles  long  and  30  wide — its  existence  a  proof 
of  the  zeal  and  assiduity  of  the  Local  Preachers  marshalled  under 
his  predecessor.  Soon  the  opening  of  the  copper-mines  brought 
shoals  of  immigrants  to  South  AustraHa — consisting  largely  of 
Cornish  miners,  and  amongst  these  many  Methodists.  Under 
Draper's  leadership,  full  advantage  was  taken  of  the  tide.  The 
staff  was  reinforced  from  England  ;  young  men  of  promise  were 
pressed  into  service  in  the  Colony.  Yet  churches  could  not  be 
built  fast  enough.  Draper  writes  in  1849  :  "  Our  chapels  are 
all  too  small  by  half  ;  and  as  building  is  very  expensive,  it  almost 
distracts  me  as  to  how  the  wants  of  the  places  are  to  be  met." 
Scheme  after  scheme  this  bold  builder  carried  through  with  suc- 
cess. Judicious  and  far-seeing  in  his  plans,  he  was  prompt  in 
action,  and  was  borne  forward  by  the  confidence  of  his  people. 

Draper's  work  was  in  full  progress  at  Adelaide,  when  in  185 1  the 
discovery  of  gold  in  Victoria  disorganized  the  South  Australian 


SWARMS  FROM  THE  OLD  HIVE  145 

community.  "  Trustees,  Local  Preachers,  Leaders,  members  left 
the  Colony  in  the  general  rush."  Congregations  were  broken  up, 
chapels  closed  ;  in  some  neighbourhoods  so  few  of  the  male  popula- 
tion were  left,  that  "  to  see  a  man  pass  was  an  event  which  drew 
the  children  to  the  doors  !  "  Debts,  on  empty  chapels,  became  a 
crushing  burden  ;  but  for  the  assistance  of  the  Committee  at 
home,  the  Mission  would  have  gone  into  bankruptcy.  In  a  few 
months  the  crisis  was  over  ;  money  poured  into  the  Colony  from 
the  gold-fields  ;  the  truant  miners  gradually  returned  to  their 
homes  ;  the  empty  chapels  and  depleted  Classes  filled  again. 
Through  wise  and  patient  care  the  loss  resulting  from  this  un- 
hingement was  minimised.  Draper  left  Adelaide  in  1855,  amid 
universal  regret.  During  his  residence  the  population  of  the 
Colony  had  quadrupled,  and  the  Methodist  Society  had  grown 
in  a  still  larger  proportion.  South  Australia  entered  the  Austra- 
lasian Conference  with  a  registered  Church-membership  of  1,500, 
served  by  a  staff  of  10  ministers  and  106  Local  Preachers. 

Victoria  was  opened  up  by  a  Tasmanian  Company,  which  pur- 
chased half  a  million  acres  of  land  from  the  natives,  and  selected 
the  site  of  the  future  Melbourne  as  "  the  place  for  a  village  !  " 
The  first  party  of  colonists  was  commended  to  God  in  prayer  in 
the  Wesleyan  Church  in  Launceston  (Tasmania),  on  the  evening 
before  they  sailed.  This  was  in  the  year  1835.  In  April,  1836, 
Joseph  Orton  {see  p.  141),  then  Chairman  of  the  Tasmanian 
District,  visited  the  settlement,  and  preached  under  a  clump  of 
trees  to  the  entire  colony,  of  fifty  persons.  A  crowd  of  the  blacks 
drew  near,  attracted  by  the  music  ;  it  is  remembered  that  Orton 
on  this  occasion  earnestly  charged  his  white  hearers  with  their 
duty  to  the  heathen,  whom  they  were  dispossessing.  Before 
long  a  Methodist  Society  was  formed,  and  a  chapel  built ;  in 
1838  the  Melbourne  Society  numbered  eighteen  persons. 

The  British  Government  appointed  "  Protectors "  of  the 
natives  in  Victoria.  Amongst  the  earliest  of  these  were  two 
earnest  Methodists  of  the  names  of  Dredge  and  Parker,  who 
proved  a  valuable  addition  to  the  little  Society.  Through  their 
influence,  and  on  the  representations  of  Orton,  a  couple  of  mis- 
sionaries were  sent  to  Victoria  to  labour  amongst  the  Aborigines. 
They  were  stationed  at  a  spot  50  miles  or  more  from  Melbourne, 
where  a  Native  Reserve  was  formed  under  the  name  of  Bunting- 
dale.     (The   history   of   this   experiment   has   been   related   on 

p.  95-) 

Distance  prevented  any  adequate  ministration  to  the  British 
settlers  on  the  part  of  the  Buntingdale  missionaries,  and  the 

K 


146  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Tasmanian  Chairman  could  seldom  visit  them.  On  the  eve  of 
his  departure  for  England,  Orton  laboured,  however,  in  Melbourne 
for  several  months,  prior  to  the  arrival  of  Samuel  Wilkinson 
(1841),  who  was  the  first  resident  Wesleyan  Minister.  Edward 
Sweetman  followed  him,  though  not  immediately,  in  1846 — a 
man  greatly  beloved  and  revered,  under  whose  care  the  Church 
was  soundly  built  up.  But  further  help  was  desperately  needed 
for  the  growing  population  :  "  We  have  been  looking  for  the 
John  Wesley"  (the  Missionary  ship),  writes  Sweetman  in  1847; 
"  and  what  is  she  about  to  bring  us  ? — one  man ;  a  cargo  of 
disappointment  !  " 

A  Providential  appointment  was  made  in  the  selection,  in 
1850,  of  William  Butters  [comp.  p.  142)  for  the  Superintendency 
at  Melbourne — a  missionary  of  colonial  experience,  and  more- 
over "  of  great  sagacity,  of  broadest  sympathies,  and  of  manly 
bearing  ...  a  primus  inter  pares,  a  father  to  the  younger  men." 
He  and  his  people  set  themselves  to  provide  for  the  newcomers, 
who  began  to  pour  in  by  shiploads,  as  many  as  2,000  being  on  one 
occasion  landed  in  a  single  evening.  They  arrived  often  in  piti- 
able plight,  friendless  and  moneyless.  A  "  Wesleyan  Emigrants* 
Friends'  Society "  was  started  and  an  "  Emigrants'  Home  " 
opened,  which  proved  the  salvation,  both  for  body  and  soul,  of 
many  a  forlorn  adventurer.  The  resources  of  the  Colony  were 
taxed  to  their  uttermost  to  cope  with  the  influx  occasioned  by 
the  gold-fever  of  1851-52  ;  it  was  "  a  period  of  the  wildest  excite- 
ment, the  like  of  which  was  never  seen  before  in  any  part  of 
the  British  dominions."  William  Butters  was  the  man  for  the 
emergency,  and  was  nobly  supported  by  his  people.  The  Colonial 
Governor,  a  Moravian  Latrobe  and  worthy  of  his  name,  lent  every 
assistance  in  his  power  to  the  missionaries.  The  authorities  of 
the  W.M.M.S.  in  London  were  alive  to  the  situation.  Four  new 
missionaries  were  promised  from  home  ;  each  of  the  Missionary 
Secretaries  wrote  in  brotherly  sympathy  and  encouragement. 

The  most  strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  supply  the  mining 
townships  with  religious  ordinances.  Two  young  preachers  were 
sent  to  the  mines,  who  shared  the  lot  of  the  diggers,  building 
their  own  huts  and  ministering  amongst  the  rough  camps  where- 
ever  opportunity  offered.  Local  Preachers  and  Class-leaders 
gathered  little  groups  about  them,  in  homely  fashion,  and  sought 
to  direct  the  gold-seekers  to  the  heavenly  treasure.  Said  the 
Bishop  of  Melbourne,  referring  to  this  crisis  :  "  The  Wesleyans 
in  particular  succeed  in  making  provision,  even  for  such  a  popula- 
tion as  that  upon  the  gold-fields."     The  firm  yet  elastic  texture 


SWARMS  FROM  THE  OLD  HIVE  147 

of  the  Methodist  economy,  which  serves,  when  rightly  used,  to 
mobihse  the  forces  of  the  Church  for  any  given  purpose,  enabled 
it  to  deal  with  the  unprecedented  situation  arising  in  Australia. 
During  the  five  years  of  William  Butters'  Superintendency  the 
population  of  Victoria  increased  fourfold,  and  the  Methodist 
Society  multiplied  by  3^,  standing  at  the  figure  of  2,000  when 
the  new  Conference  was  formed  in  1855.  This  rapid  progress 
proved  soHd  ;  and  the  work  done  amongst  the  gold-diggers  of 
Victoria  has  borne  fruit  in  many  lands. 

The  four  Provinces  we  have  dealt  with  were  constituted  into 
Methodist  Districts  in  1855.  Queensland  was  not  then  ripe 
for  separation,  and  remained  attached  to  New  South  Wales. 
The  membership  of  the  Moreton  Bay  (now  Brisbane)  Circuit,  at 
this  date,  was  sixty-one.  William  Moore  and  John  Watsford.* 
appointed  about  1850,  were  successful  Methodist  pioneers  in 
Queensland.  A  company  of  pious  Germans,  who  had  come  out 
earlier  as  lay-missionaries,  joined  the  Society  in  this  Colony ; 
several  of  them  became  useful  Local  Preachers. 

Methodism  in  Tasmania  ran  a  less  eventful,  but  not  less  suc- 
cessful, course  than  on  the  continent  (for  its  beginnings,  see 
Chapter  IV.).  Nathaniel  Turner  was  at  work  here  in  1833,' and 
his  ministry  was  richly  blessed.  In  1835  the  three  Circuits  of 
the  island  became  a  separate  District,  presided  over  by  Joseph 
Orton  {see  pp.  141,  145),  a  true  pastor-bishop.  William  Butters 
{see  p.  146)  was  missionary  to  the  penal  settlement  of  Port  Arthur 
(replacing  the  Macquarie  Harbour  establishment  :  see  p.  47),  at 
which  the  most  criminal  convicts  were  confined  :  "  Probably  no 
part  of  the  mission-field  was  so  full  of  peril  to  mind  and  body  as 
Port  Arthur."  When  in  1844  an  AngHcan  chaplain  was  sub- 
stituted for  the  unofficial  Wesleyan  minister,  the  Governor  bears 
witness  that  "  the  duties  of  the  station  have  always  been 
performed  in  a  zealous,  spiritual,  laborious,  and  self-denying 
manner."  Fruit  was  gathered  from  this  forbidding  field  which 
abundantly  repaid  the  painful  sowing. 

The  name  of  John  Allen  Manton  (1830-65)  became  endeared, 
both  to  convicts  and  colonists,  throughout  Tasmania.  His 
memory  is  especially  associated  with  the  development  of  Higher 

*  Watsford,  to  whose  heroic  service  in  Fiji  reference  has  been  made 
(p.  ro8),  was  the  first  Austrahan-born  Wesleyan  Minister.  His  father 
converted  under  Samuel  Leigh,  was  one  of  the  original  Paramatta 
Methodists.  He  himself  owed  his  awakening  to  Draper  (1838)  at  a 
period  of  the  latter's  ministry  which  he  had  thought  peculiarly 
wufruitful.  ^       r  ^ 


148  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Education,  in  which  Tasmania  preceded  the  sister  colonies.  Its 
salubrious  climate  induced  Australian  parents  to  send  their 
children  across  to  the  island,  when  suitable  boarding-schools 
were  provided.  Horton  College  was  opened  in  1855,  Manton 
becoming  its  first  President.  To  the  formation  of  the  Austra- 
lasian Conference  the  Tasmanian  District,  with  Manton  for  its 
Chairman,  contributed  5  ministers  and  700  Church-members. 

In  New  Zealand  the  Anglican  and  Methodist  Missions  to  the 
savage  Maoris  preceded  the  colonial  work  of  the  Church  {see  p.  32). 
Up  till  1839  the  British  residents  were  chance-comers,  often  of 
dangerous  character  {see  p.  97).  From  that  time  the  stream  of 
immigration  set  in,  which  has  made  of  New  Zealand  one  of  the 
most  thriving  and  self-respecting  countries  of  the  British  Empire. 

To  the  Australasian  Conference  the  two  N.  Z.  Districts — of 
Auckland  (north)  and  Wellington  (south) — contributed,  in  1854, 
6  English  Circuits,  with  13  chapels  and  21  other  preaching-places, 
employing  6  ministers  and  49  local  Preachers.  The  Church- 
membership  was  508  ;  Methodist  adherents  w^ere  estimated  at 
five  times  that  number.  (For  the  statistics  of  the  Maori  Church, 
at  this  date  furnishing  the  bulk  of  the  membership,  see  p.  99,) 

In  the  early  stages  of  the  Mission,  Native  and  English  work 
were  intermingled.  The  Natives  gathered  freely  round  the 
English  settlements  for  trade,  and  each  missionary  ministered  to " 
his  fellow-countrymen  as  they  arrived,  to  the  best  of  his  power. 
Thus  the  New  Zealand  Preachers  of  the  'forties  and  'fifties  were 
bilingual  and  served  both  races.  Amongst  these  were  men  of 
note  and  power  :  James  Watkin,  gentle  and  full  of  quiet  humour, 
"  moving  as  a  father  amongst  his  children  "  ;  Samuel  Ironside, 
"  a  son  of  thunder  "  ;  John  Aldred,  whose  "  courtesy  and  pastoral 
fidelity  endeared  him  to  old  and  young  "  ;  James  Buller,  sturdy 
and  energetic,  a  capable  man  of  affairs  ;  John  Warren,  an  ex- 
quisite preacher  ;  Thomas  Buddie,  with  "  his  wonderful  gift  for 
setting  men  to  work " — a  rare  combination  of  fervour  and 
evangelical  force  with  humility,  sound  sense,  and  business  talent. 
Thanks  to  the  climate,  the  missionary  pioneers,  like  those  of 
South  Africa  {see  p.  81),  were  able  to  give  their  lives  to  the  country, 
and  New  Zealand  Methodism  came  to  boast  its  grand  old  men. 
Its  healthy  growth  and  unchequered  progress  may  be  ascribed 
in  great  part  to  this  circumstance. 

The  harbours  of  New  Zealand  afforded  numerous  gateways  and 
starting-points  for  colonisation.  Wellington  (then  Port  Nichol- 
son), at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  North  Island,  was  the  fir 


SWARMS  FROM  THE  OLD  HIVE  149 

station  occupied  by  a  Methodist  colonial  minister.  James  Buller 
happened  to  be  there  on  Maori  business,  when  the  first  emigrant 
ship  appeared.  Amongst  the  passengers  were  a  number  of  Cor- 
nish Methodists,  whom  he  at  one  formed  into  a  Society.  In  the 
following  year  (1840)  John  Aldred  was  appointed  to  shepherd 
the  little  flock,  and  conducted  English  worship  in  a  corner  of  the 
large  Native  church.  By  1843  two  ministers  were  required  for 
the  Port  Nicholson  Circuit,  which  in  1845  was  strong  enough  to 
maintain  them  both.  Able  and  generous  colonial  laymen  were 
forthcoming  to  aid  in  the  promotion  of  Methodism — David  Lewis, 
for  example,  who  for  forty  years  was  Steward  of  the  Wellington 
Circuit. 

At  Taranaki  (later  New  Plymouth),  in  1841,  Charles  Creed — an 
able  vernacular  missionary — had  just  arrived  to  minister  to 
the  Maoris,  when  a  ship-load  of  colonists  was  landed.  Amongst 
them,  to  be  sure,  a  group  of  Methodists  presented  themselves. 
These  became  the  nucleus  of  the  Colonial  Church  on  the  western 
side  of  the  island. 

The  English  work  at  Auckland,  the  northern  capital  of  North 
Island,  was  commenced  about  the  same  time,  when  Buller,  visiting 
his  Maori  people,  found  a  congregation  of  English  newcomers,  to 
whom  he  preached  in  a  saw-pit.  In  1842  he  reports  a  Church  of 
13  Europeans  and  150  Maoris.  Next  year  a  chapel  was  built, 
mainly  out  of  local  resources.  In  1844  Walter  Lawry  {see  p.  47) 
was  appointed  "  General  Superintendent  of  Polynesian  Missions," 
and  made  his  headquarters  at  Auckland  :  "  his  luminous  and 
powerful  preaching  "  drew  many  hearers,  and  a  larger  chapel  was 
required.  When  in  1848  it  was  announced  that,  through  financial 
straits  in  England,  the  number  of  Colonial  missionaries  must  be 
reduced,  the  Auckland  laymen  convened  a  meeting  on  the  sub- 
ject ;  and  "  though  they  were  all  still  struggling  men,  they 
unanimously  resolved  to  subscribe  ;^40o  if  the  Mission  staff  were 
sustained  " — and  fulfilled  their  purpose.  Two  important  institu- 
tions were  founded  here  a  little  later — the  Native  Training  College 
of  Three  Kings,  and  Wesley  College  for  the  education  of  ministers* 
children.  Alexander  Reid  and  Joseph  Horner  Fletcher,  both 
superior  preachers,  were  put  in  charge  of  these  establishments. 
In  two  years  the  Auckland  Society  was  doubled. 

Samuel  Ironside,  appointed  in  1842,  was  the  first  English 
minister  of  Nelson  in  the  South  Island.  Here  again  the  early 
colonists  brought  Methodism  with  them ;  chief  amongst  these 
was  a  gifted  Local  Preacher  of  the  name  of  Hough.  Until  1845, 
when  the  first  Methodist  chapel  was  opened,  a  rude  sanctuar}''. 


150  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

called    "  Ebenezer,"    was    used    in    turn    by    the    Churches    of 
Nelson. 

Canterbury  and  Otago  were  settlements  made  in  the  South 
Island  about  the  year  1850 — the  former  by  an  Anglican,  the  latter 
by  a  Presbyterian  colony.  From  neither  of  them,  however, 
could  Methodism  be  kept  out ;  by  1854  both  places  appear  in  the 
list  of  Circuits. 

Here  the  Methodism  of  the  South  Seas  passes  from  our  field  of 
view,  at  the  point  when  its  early  difficulties  had  been  surmounted 
and  it  had  grown  to  independent  life.  Robert  Young  was  sent 
by  the  British  Conference  of  1852  to  visit  Australia  and  Polynesia 
as  the  Missionary  Society's  deputy,  in  order  to  consult  with  the 
local  Churches  upon  the  measures  to  be  taken  with  a  view  to  this 
eventuality.  The  Deputy  was  excellently  suited  to  his  office.  A 
minister  of  commanding  and  popular  gifts,  possessing  a  large  ex- 
perience and  grasp  of  affairs,  Robert  Young  was  universally 
welcome,  and  spared  himself  no  fatigue.  The  report  he  brought 
home,  in  1854,  was  such  as  to  encourage  an  immediate  settle- 
ment of  the  Australasian  daughter  in  her  own  house. 

So  the  new  Conference  was  established  in  1855,  under  the 
Presidency  of  William  B.  Boyce,  who  was  marked  out  for  this 
eminence  by  universal  esteem  {see  p.  143).  The  Australasian 
Church  embraced  the  four  Australian  Districts,  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  and  New  Zealand  (in  two  Districts),  to  which  were  attached 
the  Friendly  Islands  and  Fiji.  As  in  the  case  of  the  Canadian 
Conference,  the  English  Missionary  Society  agreed  to  make 
yearly  and  terminable  grants-in-aid  for  the  missions  taken  over 
by  Colonial  Methodism.  Since  the  area  covered  by  this  Con- 
ference was  so  wide  and  the  Districts  remote  from  each  other,  the 
General  Conference  of  Australasia  came  to  be  held  triennially, 
while  New  South  Wales  (including  Queensland),  Victoria  and 
Tasmania,  South  and  West  Australia,  and  New  Zealand  had  their 
subordinate  Annual  Conferences.  In  the  end  New  Zealand  de- 
tached herself  from  Australia,  preferring  a  separate  administration. 

In  these  countries,  as  in  British  North  America  {see  p.  136),  the 
separated  Methodist  Churches  have  been  drawn  together  in 
recent  years,  and  in  1894  the  first  General  Conference  of  "  The 
Methodist  Church  of  Australasia "  assembled  in  Melbourne. 
Unions  with  other  Evangelical  Churches  are  contemplated. 
♦  *  *  »  ♦ 

The  French  Conference,  formed  in  1852,  was  the  earliest  of  the 
Affiliated  Conferences  ;    the  plan  of  Affiliation  was  first  devised 


THE  OPENING  OF  CHINA  151 

on  its  behalf.  The  smallness  and  material  poverty  of  this  Church, 
whose  members  were  less  than  a  thousand  and  widely  dispersed 
in  France,  forbad  the  thought  of  independence  {comp.  p.  129).  But 
the  very  natural  jealousy  of  English  interference  prejudiced  the 
cause  of  the  Gospel  in  this  country  ;  if  Methodism  was  to  take 
root  in  France,  it  must  be  nationalised.  Moreover,  the  policy  of 
the  Second  Empire,  established  in  1851,  rendered  foreign  manage- 
ment extremely  difficult.  In  this  case,  separation  was  almost 
inevitable  ;  our  French  Preachers  and  people,  few  as  they  were, 
accepted  the  situation  with  a  courageous  spirit.  Through  God's 
mercy,  Charles  Cook  {see  p.  129)  remained  in  a  vigorous  old  age 
to  preside  over  the  little  Conference,  and  to  nurse  it  through 
its  infancy. 


CHAPTER  XII 

The  Opening  of  China 

South  China 

Up  till  1835,  when  the  African  Gold  Coast  and  the  Fijian  Islands 
were  occupied,  Methodist  missions  were  continuously  spreading 
into  fresh  fields.  For  the  next  seventeen  years  no  new  Pagan 
land  was  entered,  the  Society  contenting  itself  with  advance  and 
consolidation  upon  the  areas  already  staked  out.  But  in  1852 
the  call  came  to  take  part  in  the  greatest  of  all  missionary  tasks — 
the  conversion  of  China.  The  way  had  been  prepared  ;  the 
summons  was  imperative. 

Robert  Morrison,  commissioned  by  the  L.M.S.  in  1807,  was  the 
first  Protestant  missionary  to  China.  The  country  was  at  that 
time  barred  against  foreigners  ;  Morrison  maintained  a  precar- 
ious residence  at  Canton*  (the  only  Chinese  port  then  open)  with 
the  status  of  interpreter  to  the  East  India  Company,  or  in  the 
neighbouring  Portuguese  colony  of  Macao.  Here,  while  he 
gained  a  handful  of  Chinese  converts.  Dr.  Morrison  provided  the 
implements  for  his  successors,  by  the  production  of  his  Chinese 
Grammar  and  Dictionary  and  his  translation  of  the  Bible — 
achievements  of    immense   industry   and  of   permanent  value. 

*  Canton,  the  provincial  capital  of  the  south,  rivals  Peking,  the 
northern  (political)  capital,  in  size  and  importance,  possessing  a  vast 
commerce  and  numbering  more  than  a  million  souls. 


152  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

He  died  in  1834,  "  ^^^  having  received  the  promise  "  of  China's 
salvation,  but  having  paved  the  way  for  its  fulfilment. 

Through  his  labours,  and  those  of  his  colleague  Dr.  Milne  and  his 
successors  Drs.  Medhurst  and  Lockhart,  Chinese  Missions  assumed 
from  the  outset  a  scientific  character.  The  Gospel  enlisted  the 
arts  of  literature  and  education,  of  medicine  and  philanthropy, 
welding  them  in  alliance  with  preaching  and  the  care  of  souls  into 
a  combination  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  Chinese 
people.  Other  Protestant  agencies  followed  in  the  wake  of  the 
L.M.S. 

These  also  stood  waiting  on  the  threshold,  until  the  doors  of 
China  were  forced  by  the  violence  of  war.  The  conflict  of  1840- 
42 — "  the  Opium  War  "  as  it  is  justly  called,  to  England's  shame — 
resulted  in  the  opening  of  five  Chinese  ports  to  foreign  trade,  with 
the  cession  of  the  island  of  Hong  Kong  and  its  splendid  harbour 
to  Great  Britain.  China  thus  became  our  country's  neighbour, 
in  a  very  responsible  sense.  In  consequence  of  the  Treaty  of 
Nanking  (1842),  many  of  the  British  and  American  Missionary 
Societies  planted  themselves  at  the  opened  Ports  ;  Methodism, 
however,  was  not  prepared  to  grapple  with  China,  and  contribu- 
tions toward  the  object  were  actually  declined  by  the  Mission 
House.  The  growth  of  the  missionary  income  was  arrested  in 
the  later  'forties  {see  Chapter  XVI.),  and  the  Society  had  con- 
tracted obligations  in  other  quarters  that  seemed  beyond  its 
resources. 

Yet  China  could  not  be  denied.  Thomas  Farmer,  the  Missionary 
Treasurer,  offered  ^1,000  toward  the  commencement  of  work  in 
this  field  ;  his  proposal  was  supported  by  other  liberal  givers  ; 
and  urgent  prayers  to  God  for  China's  evangelization  were  ascend- 
ing from  Methodist  lips.  The  recent  war  had  drawn  attention 
to  this  mysterious  country,  and  revealed  something  of  its  need  ; 
in  many  minds,  the  sense  of  the  wrong  done  to  China  prompted 
the  wish  to  offer  Christian  reparation.  A  Sub-committee  of  the 
Society  was  appointed  in  1847  to  gather  information  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  to  prepare  for  action.  Thus  matters  remained  until 
1850. 

In  that  year  a  young  farmer  named  George  Piercy*.  of  the 
Pickering  Circuit,  led  the  way  by  sallying  out  as  a  private  volun- 
teer. This  was  no  unconsidered  adventure.  Piercy  was  a  well- 
informed  young  man,  and  a  Local  Preacher  of  recognised  power. 
Eager  from  boyhood  to  see  the  world,  he  had  already  made  two 

*  Mr.  Piercy  still  survives  (August,  19 12),  in  retirement  near  London, 
the  most  venerable  Methodist  missionary  now  living. 


THE  OPENING  OF  CHINA  153 

voyages  as  a  sailor,  when  his  conversion  to  God  turned  this  pas- 
sion into  a  missionary  channel,  and  China  laid  hold  upon  his 
heart.  With  some  difficulty,  he  won  consent  at  home  ;  his  father 
paid  the  passage-money  and  supplied  an  outfit.  From  the  Mis- 
sionary Society  he  sought  nothing  but  its  approval,  and  letters 
of  introduction.  Assured  that  God  called  him,  he  knew  that  his 
way  was  prepared. 

Landing  at  Hong  Kong  in  January,  1851,  Piercy  fell  in  with  a 
Methodist  Corporal,  the  last  British  soldier  remaining  out  of  a 
Society  Class,  of  Enghsh  and  Chinese  members,  established  on 
the  Island  seven  years  previously  by  the  late  Roisland  Rees 
(father  of  the  Rev.  Allen  Rees,  and  grandfather  of  Dr.  PhiHp 
Rees,  medical  missionary  to  South  China  ;  see  -p.i^y).  Mr.  Rees 
removed  from  Hong  Kong  in  1845,  but  to  him  belongs  the  honour 
of  first  planting  Methodism  on  Chinese  soil.  The  Corporal  above- 
mentioned  conducted  Piercy  to  Dr.  Legge  of  the  L.M.S.,  the 
famous  Sinologist,  who  took  the  young  adventurer  into  his  house 
and  gave  him  counsel  and  aid.  During  the  few  months  spent  in 
Hong  Kong,  Piercy  preached  to  the  soldiers  and  revived  the 
Methodist  Society  amongst  them.  On  his  removal  to  Canton, 
he  found  good  friends  in  the  London  missionaries  of  that  city. 

Piercy  reported  his  movements  and  studies  to  the  Mission 
House  at  home,  and  in  1852  made  a  formal  offer  of  his  services 
to  the  Society.  His  bold  venture  had  stimulated  Methodist 
interest  in  China,  and  on  other  grounds  the  projected  mission  had 
gained  increasing  favour  ;  the  Committee  accepted  his  proposals. 
More  than  that,  it  was  resolved  to  send  him  two  helpers.  One 
of  the  two  was  Josiah  Cox,  then  a  Richmond  student,  who  had 
petitioned  for  service  in  China.  Wesleyan  Methodism  was  then 
staggering  under  the  blows  inflicted  by  the  Reform  agitation, 
and  the  Missionary  Society  was  heavily  in  debt.  At  the  same 
time,  the  prospect  of  the  creation  of  the  American  and  Australian 
Conferences  (Chapter  XI.)  promised  a  lessening  of  expenditure 
upon  the  Society's  older  fields.  It  was  impossible,  however,  to 
undertake  this  mission  without  some  extraordinary  provision  for 
its  maintenance.  A  separate  "  China  Fund  "  was  therefore 
started,  to  be  kept  distinct  for  five  years  and  then  merged  in  the 
general  account — it  was  actually  discontinued  in  1861.  The 
"  China  Breakfast  Meeting  "  was  instituted  in  1854  to  further 
the  same  object ;  for  many  years  this  remained  a  prominent 
function  of  the  London  Anniversary.  New  sources  of  liberality 
were  thus  opened,  and  the  enterprise,  commenced  with  hesita- 
tion, stimulated  the  zeal  of  the  Church.     When  the  China  Mission 


154  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

was  undertaken,  the  Society's  debt  was  ;^25,ooo  ;  the  balance 
gradually  rectified  itself,  till  in  1858  the  debt  had  vanished  !  China 
proved  a  buoyancy  instead  of  a  burden  to  the  missionary  cause. 

The  proud  exclusiveness  of  China  was  notorious  ;  recent  events 
had  aggravated  the  hatred  of  foreigners,  which  was  particularly 
strong  in  Canton,  where  they  were  best  known.  Nothing  but  the 
dread  of  the  Western  Powers  made  the  existence  of  "  the  foreign 
devils  "  and  their  "  foreign  poison  "  possible  at  this  time  in 
Chinese  cities.  Infinite  patience  and  tact,  and  the  courage  of  men 
who  counted  not  their  lives  dear  unto  themselves,  were  needed 
for  Christ's  messengers  to  gain  a  footing  ;  these  qualities  were 
not  wanting  in  them.  By  the  year  1853  Piercy  was  able  to  open 
his  first  preaching-hall  in  Canton  ;  he  was  assisted  by  Liang  Afah, 
the  earliest  Chinese  Protestant  preacher,  whose  services  were 
lent  by  the  L.M.S.  In  1856  Cox  also  was  preaching  in  the 
vernacular.  By  this  time  the  English  response  to  the  appeals  for 
China  had  been  so  generous,  that  the  Missionary  Committee  was 
able  to  double  its  Canton  staff. 

Premises  had  been  secured,  with  much  difficulty,  in  the  native 
city ;  a  small  congregation  and  school  had  been  gathered  ; 
journeys  had  been  made  around  Canton,  familiarising  the  people 
with  the  missionaries'  presence  ;  books  of  Scripture  had  been 
widely  circulated  :  little  further  progress  could  be  reported,  when 
in  the  autumn  of  1856  the  outbreak  of  the  second  Chinese  war 
(connected,  like  the  first,  with  the  opium-trafiic)  compelled  a 
retreat  to  Macao.  Here,  however,  the  mission-staff  found  work 
to  do,  and  the  newcomers  prosecuted  their  language-studies. 
In  February,  1857,  the  first  baptism  of  native  converts  took  place, 
at  Macao  ;  five  adult  Chinese  members  of  Society  were  reported 
at  the  close  of  this  year — a  hardly  won  first-fruits.  Re-entering 
Canton  in  autumn,  1858,  the  missionaries  found  the  people  more 
approachable — a  change  largely  due  to  the  good  behaviour  of 
the  British  troops,  who  had  occupied  the  city. 

Not  until  the  conclusion  of  the  war  of  1857-60  was  it  possible 
for  mission-work  to  proceed  securely  in  Canton,  and  to  extend 
itself  into  the  Province  ;  effective  advance  dates  from  this  point. 
The  toleration  of  Christianity  had  indeed  been  formally  guar- 
anteed by  the  Imperial  Edict  of  1844  ;  but  the  Treaty  of  Tientsin 
(i860)  secured  to  foreigners  at  last  the  right  to  travel  inland. 
The  vast  interior  of  China  thus  became  accessible,  and  the  field 
was  opened  for  the  great  work  of  the  China  Inland  Mission,  set 
on  foot  by  Hudson  Taylor  in  1866.  "  The  period  of  penetration  " 
now  began. 


THE  OPENING  OF  CHINA  155 

With  the  enlarged  opportunities,  a  fresh  impetus  was  given 
to  Methodist  activity  in  Canton.  Josiah  Cox  removed  to  Central 
China  [see  below)  ;  but  reinforcements  were  forthcoming  from 
home,  including  (within  the  'sixties)  such  strong  men  as  Silvester 
Whitehead  and  Thomas  Gunn  Selby,  who  became  effective 
Chinese  scholars  and  preachers.  The  newly-established  W^omen's 
Auxiliary  (Chapter  XIII.)  sent  excellent  workers  to  carry  forward 
the  teaching  of  girls,  commenced  by  Mrs.  Piercy  in  1854  ;  boys' 
schools  were  multiplied,  as  fast  as  means  and  agents  were  forth- 
coming. So  early  as  1858,  Mr.  Cox,  assisted  by  a  Chinese  Dr. 
Wang  of  the  L.M.S.,  had  started  a  dispensary  in  Canton  ;  but 
proper  medical  work  did  not  commence  in  the  District  (on  our 
part)  till  1880,  when  Charles  Wenyon  joined  the  Mission  stafif. 
In  China,  conspicuously,  teaching  and  healing  are  the  potent 
commendations  of  Christ's  Gospel — the  latter  conveying  the 
Saviour's  love  to  those  most  needing  it  in  sensible  form,  and 
the  former  fostering  the  growth  of  the  Christian  family  and 
community,  while  both  conciliate  the  good-will  of  the  unbeliever 
and  break  the  powers  of  witchcraft  and  superstition. 

At  Fatshan,  "  the  Birmingham  of  South  China,"  situated 
14  miles  south-west  of  Canton  in  the  same  river-delta — mission- 
work  commenced  in  i860  :  this  city  has  supplied  a  stubborn 
yet  not  unfruitful  soil  for  the  seed  of  the  Kingdom.  Here  the 
first  self-supporting  Chinese  Methodist  Church  was  raised  up. 
The  villages  around  Fatshan,  and  between  it  and  Canton  have 
been  evangelized,  and  Christians  are  found  in  many  of  them. 
Sixty  miles  beyond  Fatshan,  in  the  same  direction,  lies  Sunwui, 
the  next  principal  station  in  the  District,  where  a  chapel  was 
opened  in  1871.  In  1875  the  Canton  District  included  three 
Circuits,  with  six  missionaries,  assisted  by  Catechists,  and  wdth 
a  Church-membership  of  106. 

The  North  River  Mission,  pioneered  by  Thomas  G.  Selby, 
was  the  chief  outgrowth  of  the  Mission  in  the  years  ensuing. 
Amongst  the  hills  north  of  the  Canton  plain  a  simple,  rural 
population  was  reached,  more  susceptible  to  the  Gospel  than 
the  traders  of  the  large  cities.  The  Hakka  dialect  of  North 
Kwangtung,  differing  considerably  from  the  Cantonese,  was  a 
fresh  barrier  to  the  missionary's  work  ;  his  reward  lay  in  the 
interested  attention  and  frank  response  of  his  unsophisticated 
hearers.  Along  this  line  the  Canton  District  finds  its  most 
productive  vein.  The  founding  of  the  Fatshan  Hospital  (1881), 
which  has  become  an  educational  as  well  as  a  philanthropic 
agency,  training  Chinese  students  and  nurses  for  service  elsewhere, 


156  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

was  a  great  event  in  this  period.  A  third  new  development 
was  the  occupation  of  Hong  Kong,  where  a  Chinese  minister 
was  posted  in  1884.  In  1867 — twelve  years  after  the  census 
previously  given — the  District,  consisting  now  of  five  Circuits,  had 
reached  a  Church-membership  of  four  hundred  and  thirty-three. 
The  staff  included  eight  English  missionaries  and  five  Chinese 
ministers.  Whitehead  and  Selby  have  been  invalided  home  ; 
George  Piercy  has  been  compelled  to  retire,  after  thirty-two  years 
of  toil  and  struggle.  Grainger  Hargreaves  (from  1878  onwards) 
figures  on  the  Stations,  Charles  Bone  (1880),  William  Bridie  and 
Samuel  G.  Tope  (1882) — each  of  whom  has  done  notable  work  ; 
and  the  beloved  Roderick  J.  J.  Macdonald  is  by  Dr.  Wenyon's 
side  at  Fatshan. 

The  year  1890  was  memorable  for  the  District.  A  Theological 
Institute  was  opened  in  Canton,  to  train  native  pastors  and 
catechists.  New  and  well-equipped  hospital-buildings  replaced 
the  makeshift  structure  hitherto  used  at  Fatshan.  Work  was 
commenced,  and  land  purchased,  at  Wuchow,  an  important 
trading  town  across  the  Kwangtung  border.  Wuchow  supplies 
a  base  for  advance  along  the  West  River  (meeting  the  North 
River  at  Canton),  the  basin  of  which  forms  the  great  south- 
western province  of  Kwangsi.  In  1888  an  English  minister  had 
been  given  to  Hong  Kong — already  one  of  the  chief  marts  of 
the  East — to  care  for  the  British  soldiers  and  sailors,  while  super- 
intending the  native  work.  Somewhat  later  the  Heung  Shan 
Mission  was  started  in  the  delta-region  south  of  Canton,  amongst 
a  million  of  Chinese. 

Taking  our  census  at  another  12  years'  interval,  in  1899,  we 
find  1,313  Church-members,  in  12  Circuits,  with  7  English  mis- 
sionaries, 5  Chinese  pastors,  and  26  Catechists  or  "  Chinese  Lay 
Agents."  The  timely  development  of  native  agency,  securing 
an  economy  of  European  service,  has  become  a  marked  feature 
of  this  District.  The  native  Circuits  are  advancing  toward  self- 
support  at  a  gratifying  rate.  Work  amongst  women  and  the 
teaching  of  girls  keep  pace  with  the  general  advance  of  the 
Mission  ;  its  solid  progress  is  due  to  this  correspondence.  Charles 
Bone  has  been  Chairman  of  the  District  since  1893  ;  he  remains 
so  to  the  present  time. 

In  191 1  we  find  no  new  Circuits  added  to  the  District ;  but  the 
North  River  (Hakka)  and  Kwangsi  Sections  are  marked  off  for 
independent  development.  Growth  is  indicated  by  an  increased 
membership  of  2,215.  Roderick  Macdonald  in  1904  opened  his 
hospital  in  Wuchow  and,  alas,  in  1906  was  murdered  by  river 


THE  OPENING  OF  CHINA  157 

pirates.  Blow  has  followed  blow  :  within  the  last  few  months 
(August,  1 91 2)  we  have  been  robbed  by  death  of  Philip  Rees 
[see  p.  153),  a  rarely  gifted  and  nobly  devoted  young  medical 
missionary. 

The  Kwangtung  Province,  under  the  rule  of  the  late  Chinese 
statesman,  Li  Hung-chang,  was  little  affected  by  the  Boxer 
rising  of  1900  [comp.  p.  162).  Beyond  the  burning  of  Mission- 
premises  and  rough  handling  of  native  Christians  here  and  there, 
the  Church  in  the  south  was  scarcely  disturbed  during  this 
terrible  outburst — an  exemption  due,  not  merely  to  the  efficiency 
of  the  local  Government,  but  to  the  working  of  the  Christian 
leaven  and  the  growing  enlightenment  of  the  people.  For  the 
same  reasons.  Canton  and  the  Kwangtung  Province  have  counted 
for  much  in  the  political  revolution  of  the  last  two  years. 

Central  China 

The  easy  victory  of  the  Allied  Powers  in  1858-60,  and  the 
large  concessions  made  in  the  Treaties  resulting  therefrom,  were 
due  to  the  weakening  of  the  Chinese  Empire  through  the  Taiping 
Rebellion,  which  lasted  from  1851-64.  This  strange  movement 
commenced  in  1849  in  South  China,  as  a  religious  propaganda  ; 
its  leader.  Hung  Siu-tsuen,  was  a  kind  of  second-rate  Chinese 
Muhammad,  imbued  with  some  tincture  of  Christianity  and  anim- 
ated by  a  fierce  hatred  of  idolatry.  Before  long  the  rising  assumed 
a  political,  nationalist  character,  aiming  at  the  overthrow  of  the 
Manchu  dynasty.  Hung  Siu-tsuen  announced  himself  as  the 
"  Heavenly  King,"  under  the  guidance  of  the  Heavenly  Father 
and  the  Heavenly  Elder  Brother  (Christ),  with  whom  he  finally 
ranked  himself  as  a  third  !  Defeating  the  Imperial  forces  in  the 
South,  in  1852  Hung  occupied  Nanking,  a  former  capital,  and 
assumed  the  government  of  the  adjoining  provinces.  This 
astonishing  success  excited  hopes  of  the  acceptance  of  Christian- 
ity and  the  regeneration  of  China,  which  proved  illusive.  Victory 
demoralised  the  rebels  ;  their  attempts  on  Peking  failed.  The 
Heavenly  King  grew  more  and  more  outrageous  in  his  pretensions, 
and  proved  wholly  wanting  in  statesmanship.  The  Taiping 
army,  swelled  by  ruffians  and  outlaws  from  all  quarters,  became 
a  marauding  horde  and  laid  waste  the  richest  lands  of  the  Empire  ; 
its  overthrow  effected,  after  a  long  and  bloody  struggle,  by  the 
aid  of  the  British  General  Gordon,  was  an  unspeakable  relief. 

In  i860  Josiah  Cox,  on  furlough  in  England,  received  a  letter 
from  Hung  Jen,  a  relative  of  the  Heavenly  King  in  high  office 
at  his  court — a  former  catechist  in  our  Canton  Mission — inviting 


T5S  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

him  to  Nanking.  Cox  accepted  the  invitation  on  his  return  to 
China ;  but  he  found  Hung  Jen  powerless,  and  the  revolution  fallen 
into  anarchy.  Promptly  quitting  Nanking,  he  took  the  oppor- 
tunity to  visit  the  valley  of  the  Yangtse,  and  sailed  up  this 
mighty  river  as  far  as  Hankow,  a  city  recently  included  amongst 
the  Treaty  Ports.  This  station  had  already  been  occupied  by  the 
L.M.S.  Here,  at  the  angles  formed  by  the  meeting  of  the  Han 
and  Yangtse  Rivers,  680  miles  from  the  ocean,  stand  the  three 
cities  of  Wuchang,  Hanyang,  and  Hankow,  forming  the  largest 
aggregate  of  population  in  the  Empire,  and  situated  at  its  heart 
and  centre.  Cox  saw  at  once  the  unique  importance  of  this 
position  ;  he  wrote  to  the  Mission  House  as  follows  :  "  CHmbing 
to  the  top  of  the  Tortoise  Hill,  I  looked  down  on  the  ancient 
city  of  Hanyang,  just  rising  from  the  desolations  of  the  Taiping 
war  ;  on  the  far-stretching  walls  of  Wuchang,  the  seat  of  the 
provincial  government ;  and  on  Hankow,  a  hive  of  six  or  seven 
hundred  thousand  people.  .  .  .  The  sight  of  these  vast  multi- 
tudes, and  the  thought  of  their  spiritual  darkness,  stirred  my 
spirit  and  led  me  to  pray  "  ;  in  that  prayer  lay  the  seed  of  a 
mighty  growth.  Referring  later  to  this  triple  city  and  the  dis- 
trict around  it.  Cox  said  :  "  The  whole  heathen  world  cannot 
produce  a  field  whose  population  is  so  great,  accessible,  and 
inteUigent."  Piercy  had  already,  from  Canton,  suggested  to  the. 
Home  Committee  the  occupation  of  Hankow  ;  and  Cox,  hopeful 
that  the  project  would  be  approved,  and  finding  that  in  conse- 
quence of  the  havoc  wrought  by  the  rebels  it  was  difficult  to 
secure  rented  premises,  but  easy  at  the  moment  to  buy  a  suitable 
site,  purchased  land  in  Hankow  on  his  own  authority,  begging 
the  authorities  to  condone  the  irregularity.  The  Mission  House 
knew  its  man  ;  and  William  Arthur  replied  bidding  Cox  dismiss 
his  fears  :  "I  pray,"  he  wrote,  "  that  the  ground  you  have 
secured  in  that  vast  city,  may  remain  while  the  world  stands  a 
heritage  of  the  Church,  and  become  the  site  of  many  an  event 
which  angels  will  rejoice  over  and  men  unborn  will  weep  to  see." 
The  mission  to  Central  China  was  sanctioned,  and  Josiah  Cox 
made  its  Superintendent.  The  wisdom  of  his  plans,  and  the 
ability  shown  in  their  execution,  were  equal  to  their  boldness. 

Cox  pleaded  for  a  medical  colleague  ;  Dr.  J.  Porter  Smith 
providentially  volunteered  at  this  juncture,  and  arrived  in  May, 
1864, —  the  first-appointed  medical  missionary  of  Methodism 
{see  however  p.  155).  Six  years  this  skilful  and  devoted  man 
spent  in  the  healing  of  body  and  soul — he  erected  our  first  hos- 
pital in  1S66  ;  then  he  returned  to  England,,  with  strength  broken 


Jlilllt ■! Ill      IIIWIIM   II 


David    Ilill    dislribuling    lickcls    for    faininc-rclief    lo    starving   Cliinese, 

in   Shansi. 


THE  OPENING  OF  CHINA  159 

by  excessive  toil.  Porter  Smith's  place  was  filled  by  a  worthy 
successor  in  Dr.  E.  P.  Hardey  (son  of  E.  J.  Hardey,  the  Indian 
missionary  :  see  p.  121),  who  gave  a  similar  term  of  service  to 
the  Wuchang  District.*  After  Hardey's  retirement  through 
failing  health,  the  medical  post  remained  vacant  for  twelve  years 
{see  p.  160).  But  the  work  of  the  founders  was  not  lost;  the 
fame  of  the  Mission  spread  far  through  this  means,  and  a  philan- 
thropic character  was  acquired  of  inestimable  value. 

Josiah  Cox  was  himself  obliged  to  quit  the  field  in  1875— he 
lived,  mostly  in  retirement  and  infirmity,  till  the  year  1906.  But 
he  left  behind  him  able  and  trained  lieutenants  in  William  Scar- 
borough and  David  Hill.  The  former— a  man  of  strong  and  solid 
quahties— succeeded  Cox  in  the  superintendence  of  the  Mission  ; 
the  latter  worked  as  pioneer  in  opening  new  centres.  By  this 
time  the  English  missionary  staff  numbered  ten,  including  Dr. 
Hardey,  with  a  single  Chinese  minister  f  ;  the  Church-member- 
ship of  the  District  was  148.  Beside  the  Three  Cities,  "  Kwangchi 
and  Wusueh,"  120  miles  down  the  river,  formed  the  third  Circuit ; 
David  Hill  commenced  work  here  in  1870. 

Evangelists  and  teachers,  drawn  from  the  native  converts 
were  early  trained  for  service  ;  the  former  were  the  scouts  of  the 
mission,  and  sowed  the  gospel-seed  by  the  spoken  and  printed 
word  over  the  district  surrounding  each  station  ;  the  latter  were 
set  down  wherever  settled  adherents  could  be  gathered  The 
colporteurs  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  not  unfre- 
quently  opened  the  way  for  the  missionary. 

In  1877  there  broke  out  in  Northern  China  the  most  dreadful 
famine  known  to  history,  in  which  seventy  millions  of  people 
suffered  starvation  and  some  ten  millions  perished.  David  Hill 
was  set  free  for  the  work  of  relief  ;  he  spent  the  following  two 
years  away  from  his  District  in  ministering  to  the  stricken  popu- 
lation of  the  Northern  Province  of  Shansi.  The  work  of  mercy 
wrought  during  the  Great  Famine  profoundly  impressed  the 
Chinese  people,  and  did  much  to  disarm  hostiHty  to  Christianity 
The  China  Inland  Mission  reaped  the  harvest  of  David  Hill's 
labours  in  Shansi. 

The  next  forward  movement  in  the  Wuchang  District  was 

canittJ^ofTlS'T-T^^''};''^  ''  *^^  '^'^^'  ^^^y'   Wuchang,   as    the  official 
capital  of  the  Hupeh  Province,  gave  its  name  to  the  Mission  District. 

Mid  ilt7^\  Shao-an  (1875-99),  the  first  Protestant  convert  in 

Mid-Chma  and  a  man  greatly  beloved  and  useful.     When  Chii  Shao-an 
found  that  he  must  renounce  either  his  lands  or  his  faith  he  said      ''The 

dayfof  my  We^'  '     ^  ^'^^''''  ^^  J"'"''  ^"^  '^^''  '^'^^'^^  "'^^'^1^  the 


i6o  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

made  at  Teian  (Teh-Ngan),  loo  miles  or  more  north-west  of 
Hankow,  where  John  WiUiam  Brewer  was  the  first  missionary  ; 
here  Dr.  Arthur  Morley,  the  grandson  of  George  Morley  [see  p.  25), 
commenced  medical  work  in  1888 — (maintained  by  the  Lay 
Mission  referred  to  below).  Other  important  developments  took 
place  about  the  same  time.  In  1884  the  Wuchang  High  School 
was  established,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  W.  T.  A.  Barber,  with 
the  design  of  giving  a  Christian  education  in  Western  Science 
along  with  the  native  classics  and  literature,  to  the  boys  of  well- 
to-do  Chinese  families  and  the  more  intelligent  sons  of  our  own 
people.  In  1887  Sydney  Rupert  Hodge  resumed  with  vigour 
the  medical  work  in  Hankow  {see  p.  159),  restoring  the  old  hos- 
pital on  a  larger  scale  ;  a  women's  hospital  was  shortly  added, 
built  in  commemoration  of  the  Queen's  Jubilee  (1887)  by  English 
Methodist  women,  of  which  Grace  Louisa  Sugden  was  put  in 
charge.  The  systematic  education  of  girls  was  commenced  at 
the  same  time  {comp.  p.  173). 

The  China  Lay  Mission,  established  in  1885  under  the  influence 
of  the  late  Dr.  W.  F.  Moulton  and  Mr.  John  Richard  Hill,  of  York, 
greatly  promoted  the  work  of  the  Wuchang  District.  Already, 
twelve  years  earlier,  Charles  W.  Mitchil  had  joined  this  Mission 
as  an  unpaid  Lay  Agent ;  he  rendered  valuable  help  until  his 
death  in  1892,  especially  in  conversational  preaching  and  book- 
selling. Similar  assistance  came,  from  1890  onwards,  from  the 
Joyful  News  Mission,  conducted  by  Thomas  Champness,  several 
of  whose  Agents  have  qualified  for  medical  and  other  service  in 
the  regular  ranks.  To  this  arm  of  the  service  belonged  William 
Argent,  our  first  missionary  martyr  in  China — a  capable  and 
lovable  young  fellow — who  was  murdered  in  a  sudden  riot  at 
Wusueh  on  June  5th,  1891.  This  outbreak  was  the  beginning 
of  a  storm  of  violence  which  spread  through  the  Hupeh  Province 
{see  p.  164),  and  for  a  while  compelled  a  retirement  from  the 
outlying  stations.  The  marvel  is  that  fatalities  of  this  kind  have 
been  so  rare  during  the  sixty  years  of  Methodist  work  in  China, 
amid  the  manifold  "  perils  from  the  heathen  "  encountered  by 
the  missionaries,  and  the  "  perils  of  rivers  "  and  "  perils  of 
robbers "  besetting  them.  A  guarding  Providence  has  been 
manifest  on  many  occasions  of  deadly  plot  and  furious  assault. 

The  sad  loss  of  life  at  Wusueh  was  overruled  for  good.  For  the 
representations  made  upon  it  to  Peking  drew  from  the  Chinese 
Government  a  decree,  reinforcing  the  edict  of  1844  {see  p.  152), 
that  Christianity  should  be  counted  a  tolerated  religion  throughout 
China  ;  that  its  missionaries  should  be  protected,  and  its  converts 


THE  OPENING  OF  CHINA  i6i 

unmolested.  Riots  and  persecutions  were  still  frequent  {comp. 
pp.  162-3)  ;  but  the  law  was  henceforth  unmistakably  against  the 
disturbers.  In  the  same  Wusueh  Circuit,  about  this  time,  a 
case  arose  of  critical  importance  to  Chinese  Christians.  The 
names  of  certain  members  of  the  Lan  clan,  who  had  joined  the 
Church,  were  struck  out  of  the  family  registers — an  act  depriving 
the  persons  concerned  of  their  hereditary  property.  Local  re- 
monstrances were  in  vain  ;  but  on  appeal  to  the  Imperial  Court 
the  sentence  was  quashed,  and  it  was  pronounced  that  clan- 
status  and  rights  of  inheritance  remain  unaffected  by  the  pro- 
fession of  Christianity.  These  two  Edicts  form  a  kind  of  Magna 
Charta  to  the  native  Church. 

David  Hill  took  over  the  Chairmanship  of  the  District,  on  the 
retirement  of  William  Scarborough  in  1887.  The  number  of 
regular  missionaries  remains  at  tliis  date  the  same  as  in  1875 
{see  p.  159)  ;  the  staff  has  been  strengthened  by  the  accession  of 
several  English  lay-helpers  {see  last  page).  The  medical  and 
educational  work  have  undergone  great  development.  Chii 
Shao-an  is  still  the  only  Chinese  Minister,  but  eight  Chinese 
Catechists,  or  Evangelists,  appear  on  the  Stations.  The  three 
previous  Circuits  have  become  five  ;  the  Church-membership 
has  grown  by  nearly  three-fold,  standing  at  372. 

Ta-yeh,  situated  south-east  of  Wuchang  in  the  middle  of  the 
Hupeh  coal-field,  and  An-lu  (or  Ngan-lu),  a  Prefectural  city  on  the 
River  Han  far  to  the  north-west,  became  during  the  'nineties  the 
centres  of  important  Circuits  ;  each  has  at  the  present  date  its 
medical  missionary.  Sui-chow,  which  first  appears  in  the  dignity 
of  a  Circuit  town  in  1901,  was  an  offshoot  from  the  Tei-an  Circuit ; 
it  marks  the  furthest  extent  of  the  Mission  northwards.  The 
Han-chuan  Circuit,  between  An-lu  and  Hanyang,  was  an  out- 
growth from  the  latter  Circuit.  About  ten  years  later  the  Ch'ung- 
yang  Circuit,  in  the  extreme  south  of  Hupeh,  was  started  through 
the  enterprise  of  William  H.  Watson,  bringing  the  mission  to  the 
border  of  the  Hunan  Province.  The  Wuchang  District  has  thus 
been  developed,  by  steady  and  regular  extension,  to  its  present 
proportions,  covering  a  pear-shaped  area  500  miles  in  length  and 
120  miles  wide  at  its  southern  base,  with  the  Triple  City  for  its 
centre.  In  conjunction  with  the  L.M.S.  and  other  Missions,  the 
Methodist  Church  has  spread  the  net  of  God's  kingdom  over  the 
province  of  Hupeh.  Our  JVIission  has  access  to  more  than  half  of 
its  population  of  35  millions. 

In  1899,  terminating  the  third  period  of  twelve  years  from  the 
birth  of  the  Mission,  the  Church-membership  of  the  Wuchang 

L 


i62  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

District  was  counted  at  1906,  in  seven  Circuits  {comp.  p.  161). 
The  English  missionary  staff  has  been  nearly  doubled  since  1887  ; 
there  are  two  Chinese  Ministers  for  one,  and  a  regiment  of  native 
preachers  and  teachers .      The  Lay  Mission  continues  its  assistance. 
Beside  the  great  extension  of  medical  work,  there  has  been  added 
to  the  philanthropies  of  the  Mission  (through  David  Hill's  muni- 
ficence) the  Industrial  Blind  School  at  Hankow.     The  closing 
decades   of  the   nineteenth   century  are   well   designated   "  the 
period  of  progress" for  the  Gospel  in  China  {comp.  p.  154  at  bottom). 
■-   On  April  i8th,  1896,  after  thirty-two  years  of  apostolic  labour, 
David  Hill  passed  to  his  rest.     If  Josiah  Cox  was  the  designer 
and  founder,  David  Hill  was  the  chief  builder  of  the  Church  in 
the   Wuchang   District.     His   stamp   marks   every   part  of  the 
construction.     He    came    of   the    finest    Methodist   strain,    and 
breathed   the  purest  spirit  of   his  Church.     Large-hearted  and 
broad-minded,  and  possessed  of  rare  tact  and  temper,  without 
losing  his  English  qualities  he  grew  into  a  wonderful  sympathy 
with  the  people  of  his  adoption.     He  conformed  to  native  dress 
and  manners  without  affectation,  and  bore  himself  as  a  Chinese 
gentleman  among  the  Chinese.     His  countenance   shone  with  the 
beauty  of  holiness  ;    to  look  upon  him  was  to  understand  the 
Apostle's  words  concerning  Christ's  redeemed,  "  whom  He  justi- 
fied them  He  also  glorified."     David  Hill  reduced  his  personal 
needs  to  a  minimum,  and  expended  systematically  and  carefully 
his  private  fortune  in  the  service  of  Christ.     Without  austerity  or 
harshness  toward  others,  he  set  an  example  of  selfless  devotion, 
which  powerfully  affected  both  his  fellow-workers  and  the  Chinese 
onlookers.      David  Hill  of  China  ranks  with  Francis  Asbury  of 
America,   and   John  Hunt  of  Fiji,  as  a  missionary  saint.     His 
election  to  the  Chair  of  the  Shanghai  Conference  of  1890  indicated 
the  reverence  in  which  he  was  universally  held.     His  memory 
"  smells  sweet  and  blossoms  from  the  dust ;  "  it  will  bear  fruit 
for  generations  to  come  in  the  Christianity  of  Mid-China. 

On  the  last  day  of  1899  broke  out  the  Boxer  Riots,  which 
brought  a  crisis  upon  Chinese  Christianity  comparable  to  the 
persecutions  suffered  by  the  Early  Church  under  the  Roman 
Empire.  The  tragic  story  must  not  be  related  here.  Happily 
for  our  people,  the  Viceroys  of  the  Yangtse  Valley  at  that  time 
were  exceptionally  strong  men  and  exerted  themselves,  at  much 
personal  risk,  to  prevent  massacre.  The  beneficent  Uves  of 
Christ's  servants  for  a  generation  past  in  these  regions  had 
softened  the  old  animosity  and  won  friends  for  them  in  many 
quarters.     The    European   staff   were    called   in   from   outlying 


THE  OPENING  OF  CHINA  163 

Stations  ;  their  women  and  children  were  sent  down  to  Shanghai. 
But  while  more  than  two  hundred  missionary  victims  fell  through- 
out the  Empire,  and  wholesale  martyrdoms  of  Chinese  Christians 
took  place,  the  storm  passed  over  without  loss  of  life  to  the 
Methodist  Mission-staff ;  and  our  native  people  escaped  the 
worst  calamities. 

This  crucial  "  proof  of  affliction  "  demonstrated  the  genuineness 
of  Chinese  Christianity  and  the  deep  roots  which  the  Church  of 
God  had  struck  in  this  new  soil.  Never  in  any  age  or  land  were 
more  cruel  sufferings  endured  for  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  ; 
never  were  stronger  testimonies  given  to  the  power  of  His  grace 
than  came  from  the  lips  of  tortured  and  dying  confessors  in  many 
parts  of  China  at  this  time. 

Once  more  "  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  "  proved  "  the  seed  of 
the  Church."  Since  the  Boxer  Persecution,  Christianity  has 
advanced  with  swift  speed.  In  the  twelve  years  closing  with  191 1 
the  Wuchang  District  reached  a  Church-membership  of  1,575  ; 
this  figure,  together  with  the  membership  of  the  seven  Circuits  of 
the  Hunan  District  {see  the  following  paragraphs)  which  were  its 
offspring,  makes  a  total  exceeding  2,000  and  more  than  doubling 
the  record  of  1899.  There  are  twenty-seven  European  mission- 
aries, and  two  Chinese  Ministers  counted  with  them. 

A  second  Women's  Hospital  (in  addition  to  the  Jubilee  Hospital 
of  Hankow  ;  see  p.  160)  has  been  set  up  in  Wuchang  ;  this 
building  will  ever  be  associated  with  the  name  of  Margaret 
Bennett,  its  first  doctor  in  charge,  who,  with  the  aid  of  her  family, 
had  chiefly  supplied  the  means  for  its  erection,  and  who  was 
smitten  down  five  months  after  its  opening,  which  took  place  in 
July,  1903.  The  medical  work  of  the  Wuchang  District  sustained 
its  heaviest  loss  by  the  death  of  Sydney  Hodge,  called  home  to 
God  in  1907  after  twenty  years  of  most  manful  and  effective 
service — a  worthy  "  companion  "  to  David  Hill  "in  the  kingdom 
and  patience  of  Jesus."  Dr.  Hodge's  colleague  and  successor, 
Richard  T.  Booth,  a  bright  and  gifted  son  of  Irish  Methodism, 
death  has  just  snatched  from  us  (June,  1912)  in  his  prime. 

To  the  philanthropic  agencies  of  the  Mission  has  been  added 
the  "  Destitute  Boys'  Home  "  established  by  Joseph  Kimber  Hill 
(nephew  of  David  Hill)  at  Suichow  ;  and  provision  has  been  made 
for  the  future  Chinese  Ministry  by  the  starting  of  a  Theological 
and  Training  Institute  attached  to  the  Wuchang  High  School. 
William  Arthur  Cornaby — our  ablest  Chinese  scholar  and  writer — 
was  lent  in  the  year  1904  to  the  service  of  the  "  Christian  Litera- 
ture Society  for  China."  WTiile  the  spoken  dialects  vary  along 


i64  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

the  South-East  coast  of  China,  the  one  written  literary  language 
(the  Wenli)  reaches  its  millions  of  readers;  and  in  this  time  of 
national  awakening  the  Shanghai  Christian  press,  adapting  itself 
with  skill  to  Chinese  needs  and  tastes,  has  been  doing  a  mighty 
work  for  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Hunan 

South  of  Hupeh,  stretching  between  it  and  Kwangtung,  lies 
Hunan,  This  Province  is  the  quintessence  of  China  ;  for  long  it 
had  been  the  focus  of  anti-foreign  agitation.  Its  notables  had 
vowed  that  Christianity  should  never  cross  its  boundaries  ;  from 
Hunan  proceeded  the  agitation,  disturbing  the  whole  Yangtse 
valley,  through  which  William  Argent  lost  his  life  {see  p.  i6o). 
A  "  Literature  Society  "  was  formed  in  Hunan,  under  Mandarin 
patronage,  which  flooded  the  country  with  blasphemous  and 
obscene  anti-Christian  publications  ;  the  walls  of  Wuchang  were 
placarded  with  horrible  cartoons  ;  popular  songs  were  put  in 
circulation,  the  burden  of  which  was  :  "  Drive  out  the  devil-re- 
ligion ;  cut  the  foreigner  into  a  thousand  pieces  !  "  The  crimes 
resulting  from  this  propaganda  compelled  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment to  stop  the  atrocious  campaign  of  defamation. 

From  the  beginning  Hunan  had  been  in  the  thoughts  and 
prayers  of  the  Hupeh  missionaries — Josiah  Cox  himself  had" 
made  an  excursion  into  the  Province  ;  moreover,  the  Churches 
of  Hupeh  contained  several  Hunan  men,  who  were  concerned 
for  their  fellow-provincials.  The  outrages  of  1891  turned  Chris- 
tian eyes  intently  upon  Hunan  ;  a  Christian  revenge  must  be 
taken  for  Argent's  murder. 

The  initiative  came  from  a  couple  of  native  village  Christians 
in  the  Circuit  of  Tei-an,  named  Chang  Yi-chih  and  Li  Kiang-ti. 
The  latter,  a  recent  convert,  had  a  dream  in  which  he  heard  the 
Saviour  bidding  him  go  to  witness  for  the  truth  in  Hunan.  The 
missionary,  warily,  sent  young  Li  to  consult  Mr.  Chang,  the 
Leader  of  a  neighbouring  Society,  who  judged  the  dream  to  be  of 
God.  As  it  happened,  Chang  had  business  connexions  with  Hu- 
nan ;  he  had  himself  been  impelled  to  preach  Christ  there,  and 
now  volunteered  to  accompany  the  dreamer  on  his  dangerous 
errand.  So  the  two  travellers  set  out,  in  April,  1893 — our  first 
apostles  to  Hunan.  They  journeyed  far  into  the  Province,  and 
found  the  country  open  and  friendly  beyond  expectation.  On 
their  return  to  Hankow,  the  good  tidings  was  forwarded  to  other 
Churches.  Meetings  were  held  up  and  down  the  District  on  the 
subject,  and  the  people  showed  themselves  eager  for  advance. 


THE  OPENING  OF  CHINA  165 

Two  subsequent  and  equally  encouraging  visits  were  made  by 
Chang. 

Other  Christian  invaders  now  entered  the  long-barred  region, 
and  the  old  malignant  opposition  was  aroused,  delaying  the  next 
step  in  the  campaign.  Meanwhile,  to  the  delight  of  their  English 
pastors,  a  little  Missionary  Society  was  formed  by  the  Hupeh 
Methodists  and  a  fund  collected — small  in  actual  amount,  but 
large  in  proportion  to  the  means  of  the  givers — to  promote  the 
evangelization  of  Hunan. 

Trouble  at  home  put  a  stop  to  Chang's  travels.  It  was  time 
for  the  missionaries  themselves  to  enter  the  field.  Already,  in 
1894,  Ernest  C.  Cooper,  working  in  South  Hupeh,  had  crossed 
the  Hunan  border  unhindered  ;  further  exploration  was  in  view, 
when  the  war  with  Japan  (1894-5)  was  followed  by  a  recrudes- 
cence of  anti-foreign  feeling  that  compelled  delay  ;  and  David 
Hill's  death  at  this  juncture  (1896)  disconcerted  Wuchang  plans. 
It  was  not  till  after  the  occupation,  in  1898-99,  of  Ch'ung-yang 
and  Tung-cheung  (p.  161)  near  the  Hunan  border  of  Hupeh, 
furnishing  a  base  for  sustained  advance,  that  "  the  Hunan 
Mission  "  was  constituted  under  the  superintendency  of  WiUiam 
H.  Watson,  an  experienced  pioneer.  Meanwhile  the  China  Inland 
Mission,  and  the  L.M.S.  guided  by  Dr.  Griffith  John,  had  gone 
forward,  the  Methodists  for  the  time  standing  aside. 

Instructed  by  the  Wuchang  Synod  of  1900,  the  three  mission- 
aries North,  Warren,  and  Watson,  together  traversed  a  large 
part  of  the  Province  with  a  view  to  definite  occupation.  Though 
they  had  exciting  experiences,  the  travellers  found  in  many  places 
the  people  tolerant  of  foreigners  and  the  magistrates  not  un- 
friendly. The  influences  at  work  in  Hupeh  were  at  last  breaking 
down  the  defiant  Hunan  prejudice  ;  while  the  recent  victory  of 
Japan  had  convinced  the  more  intelligent  Chinese  that  their 
country  too  must  go  to  school  with  the  Westerners. 

Hardly,  however,  had  the  three  spies  returned,  convinced  that 
the  time  was  come  for  evangelizing  Hunan,  when  the  Boxer 
troubles  broke  out  and  the  door  they  had  found  open  was  violently 
closed.  In  a  few  weeks  chapels  and  mission-houses  throughout 
Hunan  were  in  flames  ;  the  missionaries  were  fugitives,  and  their 
converts  overwhelmed  with  persecution.  "  The  work  of  God 
that  seemed  so  prosperous  in  this  Province,  was  blasted  as  with 
the  breath  of  fire."  Yet  this  calamity  was  as  brief  as  it  was 
terrible  ;  the  Boxer  movement  collapsed  ;  the  anti-foreign  rage  of 
Hunan  had  spent  itself,  as  in  a  final  paroxysm.  In  the  summer 
of  1 90 1  George  Gilbert  Warren,  revisiting  the  Province,  found  the 


i66  ,     WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

country  peaceable,  the  friends  made  on  former  journeys  ready  to 
welcome  him,  and  even  Chang-sha,  the  capital  city,  open  to  the 
Gospel. 

Ernest  C.  Cooper  and  Lo  Yu-shan  were  therefore  appointed  by 
the  following  Synod  to  Chang-sha.  Arriving  early  in  1902,  they 
secured  suitable  premises  with  no  great  dif&culty — other  missions 
had  already  entered  the  city.  Enquirers  thronged  to  their  meet- 
ings ;  and  though  threatening  incidents  occurred,  there  were 
many  signs  of  an  awakened  spirit  in  the  people  ;  the  Hunanese 
could  be  as  good  friends  as  they  had  been  good  haters.  The  best 
helper  of  the  missionaries  at  this  time  was  Huang  Chih-yuan,  a 
Methodist  colporteur  working  between  Chang-sha  and  the  Hupeh 
border.  Within  the  next  two  or  three  years  the  Mission  gained 
a  footing  in  Ping-kiang,  Liu-yang,  and  Yi-yang — positions  on 
the  route  from  Wuchang  to  Chang-sha ;  their  occupation  linked 
up  the  mission  in  the  latter  city  with  those  of  South  Hupeh. 

In  1903-4  the  march  southwards  was  resumed  ;  missions  were 
planted  in  Pao-Ching,  Yung-chow-fu,  and  Ch'en-chow,  mainly 
through  the  enterprise  of  Ernest  Cooper,  who  made  adventurous 
journeys  on  the  waterways  above  Chang-sha,  finally  bringing 
Hunan  work  into  touch  with  that  of  the  Provinces  of  Kwangsi 
{see  p.  156)  and  Kwangtung  {comp.  p.  155).  The  Missionary  Com- 
mittee realised  the  importance  of  the  occupation  of  Hunan,  and 
sent  reinforcements  to  the  Wuchang  staff,  which  enabled  it  to  set 
free  pioneer  workers  for  the  new  province. 

The  Hunan  Mission,  if  long  delayed,  spread  far  more  quickly 
than  those  of  older  date.  The  way  of  the  Lord  had  been  prepared 
amongst  the  people  by  a  marvellous  train  of  events  ;  China  was 
shaking  off  the  lethargy  of  ages.  The  new  advance  had  behind 
it  the  momentum  of  forty  years'  work  in  Hupeh,  which  furnished 
trained  agents,  English  and  Native,  ready  to  enter  the  open  door. 

In  1907  the  Hunan  District  was  separated  from  Wuchang,  with 
the  energetic  Gilbert  Warren  for  its  Chairman.  According  to  the 
latest  returns  (of  191 2),  it  reports  7  Circuits,  and  is  served  by 
13  English  Missionaries  and  one  Chinese  Minister,  with  a  further 
complement  of  lay- workers  (men  and  women).  The  Church- 
membership  of  the  District  exceeds  500,  having  attained  in  ten 
years  a  growth  which  it  cost  the  Wuchang  District  nearly  thirty 
years  to  realise.  A  High  School  has  been  opened  at  Chang-sha, 
with  a  Theological  Department  more  recently  commenced  ;  and 
there  is  a  hospital  at  Yung-chow,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  George 
and  Mrs.  Hadden.  The  Chang-sha  Riots  of  1910  caused  bu^ 
a  brief  interruption  to  the  work  of  the  District.     Nothing  coul^j 


WOMEN'S  WORK  FOR  MISSIONS  167 

afford  a  brighter  augury  for  the  future  of  Christianity  in  China 
than  the  free  course  of  the  Gospel  in  this  Province,  formerly  the 
hotbed  of  hostihty  to  Europe  and  to  Christ. 

The  great  persecution  of  1900,  and  the  desperate  but  defeated 
attempt  then  made  to  stamp  out  Christianity,  have  been  followed 
by   a   sweeping   reaction   throughout   China.     The    subsequent 
national  renunciation  of  opium  has  revealed  a  force  of  conscience 
and  of  will  in  the  Chinese  charactei  worthy  of  the  deepest  respect. 
The  political  revolution  now  in  progress,  which  has  turned  the 
oldest  of  the  world's  monarchies  into  the  youngest  of  its  republics, 
has  been  accomphshed  so  far  with  a  peacefulness  and  moderation 
truly  astonishing.     Christian  teaching  and  example  have  been 
powerful  factors  in  this  result.     The  acceptance  by  the  RepubUc 
of  the  Christian  Era  for  its  calendar  is  immensely  significant. 
From  this  date  China  must  needs  count  all  things  new  ! 

CHAPTER  XIII 

Women's  Work  for  Missions 

Methodist  women  overseas,  as  at  home,  have  had  an  ample 
share  in  the  sacrifices  and  labours  of  the  Church.  They  have  been 
prompters  and  participators  in  almost  every  missionary  advance. 
From  the  days  when  Barbara  Heck  "  under  God  brought  into 
existence  American  and  Canadian  Methodism,"  and  Mary  Black 
by  her  pastoral  care  of  the  little  flock  in  Nova  Scotia  freed  her 
husband  for  his  long  itinerations  {see  pp.  40,  41 )»  down  to  this  Cen- 
tenary year,  the  wives  and  daughters  of  missionaries,  and  the 
women  converts  of  their  training,  have  rendered  unpaid  and 
unstinted  service  to  the  cause  of  Christ  in  foreign  lands.  They 
bore  the  brunt  of  persecution  through  the  bitter  years  of  West 
Indian  slavery  ;  their  light  shone  in  brave  beneficence  from  Chris- 
tian homes  set  up  amongst  ferocious  Maoris,  cannibal  Fijians, 
and  capricious  Kafirs.  Suffering  has  been  alleviated,  ignorance 
enlightened,  homes  sweetened  and  purified,  and  the  kingdom  of 
God  brought  into  the  innermost  domains  of  life  by  the  tender 
ministry  of  women  whose  heart  the  Lord  had  touched,  and  who 
made  the  work  of  husbands,  fathers,  or  brothers  their  own. 

The  Methodist  women  of  England,  in  the  early  years  of  Missions, 
felt  their  missionary  responsibility.  Leaving  public  advocacy 
to  the  other  sex,  they  took  upon  themselves  "  the  drudgery  of 
charity  "  ;  they  furnished  a  host  of  collectors,  who  supported 
their  house-to-house  appeals  with  the  personal  argument  and 


i68  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

explanation  which  commend  the  missionary  cause  where  platform 
speeches  cannot  reach. 

Mrs.  Hoole,  \\^fe  of  Dr.  Hoole  of  the  Mission  House  {see  p.  30), 
made  warm  friends  of  her  husband's  missionary  guests ;  she  cor- 
responded with  them  when  they  went  abroad.  Learning  their 
needs,  she  cast  about  for  ways  of  assistance,  until  without  settled 
design  this  lady  had  woven  a  web  of  communication  which  linked 
the  wants  of  almost  every  foreign  station  of  the  Society  to  supplies 
drawn  from  the  various  quarters  of  the  Home  Church.  A  busy 
housewife  and  mother,  she  found  time  nevertheless  to  write  letters 
of  cheer  and  counsel  to  missionary  wives  in  lonely  or  perilous 
surroundings,  and  she  became,  in  effect,  the  Women's  Secretary 
of  the  Society.  Mrs.  Hoole  started  also  the  "  Juvenile  Offering," 
our  first  missionary  magazine  for  children,  and  was  its  editor 
for  twenty  years. 

During  the  weary  half-century  of  "  breaking  ground  "  in  the 
East  {see  Chapter  IX.),  the  necessity  for  speciaHsed  women's  work 
forced  itself  on  the  missionary  mind.  In  Ceylon  and  India  the 
women  are  commonly  inaccessible  to  the  preaching  or  healing 
ministry  of  men.  Education,  where  welcomed  for  the  boys,  was 
repulsed  for  the  girls  :  "  Milk  is  good,"  the  Hindu  father  would  say 
when  his  daughters  were  invited  to  learn  reading,  "  but  milk 
given  to  snakes  becomes  poison  I  "  When  here  and  there  a  mis- 
sionary's wife  gathered  a  handful  of  girls  together,  and  won  her 
way  into  their  homes,  the  full  misery  of  a  family  system  based 
on  child-marriage  disclosed  itself.  The  foul  superstitions,  the 
sickening  fears,  the  cramped  faculties,  the  needless,  unpitied 
sufferings  of  Indian  womanhood— all  this  welded  into  an  iron 
system  by  the  fierce  conservatism  with  which  the  grandmothers 
stamped  the  traditional  customs  upon  their  juniors— appealed 
poignantly  to  those  admitted  to  the  secrets  of  the  prison-house, 
who  realised  what  Christ  had  done  for  their  womankind.  Indian 
society,  moreover,  is  so  knit  together  that  nothing  effectual  could 
be  done  to  save  the  men,  unless  the  new  hght  reached  their  sisters 
too.  Missionaries'  wives,  pre-occupied  by  family  claims  and  too 
often  disabled  through  ill-health,  could  do  but  Httle  by  themselves 
in  this  indispensable  task.  Women-helpers  must  be  found  who 
should  be  free  to  pour  their  whole  love  and  strength  into  the  work 
of  emancipation. 

So  early  as  1839,  the  "  Ladies'  Society  for  Promoting  Female 
Education  in  China  and  the  East  "*  appointed  a  lady  "  to  assist 

*  An  undenominational  Society,  formed  in  1837,  and  dissolved  in 
1890.     The  greater  part  of  its  work  was  taken  over  by  the  C.M.S. 


WOMEN'S  WORK  FOR  MISSIONS  169 

Mr.  Percival  {see  p.  1 17)  in  his  extensive  plans  of  female  education," 
formed  at  Jaffna.     From  that  time  repeated  references  appear 
in  the  Missionary  Report  to  Girls'  Schools  established  by  mis- 
sionaries' wives.     In  1842   Mrs.  Batchelor    {see   p.  123)    opened 
a  school  at  Negapatam  (India),  where  she  got  together  sixty- 
eight  pupils,  including  twenty-four  caste-girls,  half  of  the  latter 
being    boarders  !      A   similar   movement   was    begun    by   Mrs. 
Roberts  {see  p.  124)  of  Madras  ;  when  her  husband  died  in  1849, 
this  devoted  woman  continued  her  work  and  gathered  under  her 
motherly  care  destitute  orphans,  many  of  whom  grew  up  to  be 
intelligent  and  faithful  servants  of  the  Mission.     Mrs.  Roberts' 
Orphan  Institute  became  in  course  of  time  the  Madras  Wesleyan 
Girls'  High  School      The  Mysore  District  followed  the  example 
01  Madras,  and  in  i860  reported  500  school-girls  under  instruction  ; 
Mrs    Pinkney,  who  had  assisted  Mrs.  Batchelor,  was  the  chief 
agent  in  this  success.     In  1853  Mrs.  Walton  {see  p.  114)  began  a 
school  at  Trincomali  (Ceylon),  the  opening  of  which  her  husband 
regarded  as  "  by  far  the  most  important  step  taken  in  connexion 
with  the  Mission  for  many  years;  "   Gogerly  {see  p.  114)  testifies 
that  "  we  find  the  work  [of  the  Mission]  flourishes  in  proportion 
as  it  is  accompanied  with  female  influence." 

In  1858  Mrs.  Batchelor  wrote  to  Miss  Farmer*,  daughter  of  the 
Missionary   Treasurer,    suggesting   the   formation   of   a   Ladies' 
Committee  to  select  and  send  out  to  the  mission-field  competent 
women-teachers.     This  letter  bore  fruit  in  the  summoning  of  a 
ladies'  meeting  at  the  Mission  House,  in  December  of  that  year. ' 
Secretaries  Hoole  and  Arthur  expounded  the  subject  and  sketched 
a  plan  of  action,  then  left  the  ladies  to  their  own  business.     It 
was  decided  to  form  a  "  Ladies'  Committee  for  AmeUorating  the 
Condition    of    Women  in    Heathen    Countries."!     Mrs.    Hoole 
and  Miss  Farmer  were  appointed  respectively  the  Foreign  and 
Home  Correspondents  of  the  Committee  ;  afterwards  Mrs.  Farmer 
became  Treasurer.     The  Committee  undertook  correspondence 
with  missionaries'  wives  and  others  engaged  in  school-work  on 
the  field,  and  the  selection,  training,  and  support  of  volunteers. 
The  groups  of  women-helpers  already  existing  up  and  down  the 
country  were  invited  to  associate  themselves  with  the  central 
board,  and  the  Mission  House  issued  a  circular,  addressed  to 
every  Circuit,  explaining  the  project  and  urging  co-operation. 

*  Author  of  Tonga  and  the  Friendly  Islands. 
■=  t  This  title  was  changed  in  1874    to  "The   Ladies'  Auxiliary    for 
Female  Education,"  and  again  in  1884  to  its  present    form,    "The 
Women's  Auxiliary  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Missionary  Society." 


170  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

An  "  Occasional  Paper,"  with  news  from  the  field,  was  started  in 
May,  1859  :  subsequently  this  became  a  quarterly  magazine,  now 
known  as  Women's  Work. 

The  earliest  missionary  sent  out  by  the  Ladies'  Committee, 
Susannah  Gooding  Beal,  sailed  in  1859,  for  Belize  in  Honduras. 
She  was  the  first  also  to  receive  her  crown,  dying  of  yellow  fever 
after  a  few  months  of  hopeful  mission  service.  Since  1868  no 
further  appointment  has  been  made  to  America  or  the  West 
Indies*.  The  Women's  Auxiliary  has,  however,  touched  at  one 
point  or  other  all  our  great  mission-fields.  Help  was  given  for 
some  years  in  the  shape  of  warm  clothing  to  the  missions  in  the 
Hudson  Bay  Territory,  where  the  Indian  women  suffer  pitifully 
from  the  Arctic  climate.  In  the  opposite  direction,  a  worker  was 
sent  to  Fiji  in  i860.  During  the  'sixties  South  Africa  received 
much  attention  :  in  most  instances  the  terms  of  service  there  were 
short ;  Charlotte  E.  Beauchamp,  however,  worked  among  the 
Pondos  for  twenty-seven  years  (1869-96).  The  lack  of  organized 
women's  work  in  the  Transvaal  and  Rhodesian  Missions  is  prov- 
ing at  the  present  time  a  most  serious  drawback  ;  want  of  funds 
alone  prevents  the  W.A.  from  meeting  this  importunate  call.  In 
West  Africa  the  W.A.  has  been  represented  by  three  workers 
{comp.  p.  178  below) — two  remaining  in  the  country  but  a  few 
months  ;  the  third,  Lydia  EUenberger,  laboured  most  usefully 
at  Aburi  on  the  Gold  Coast  for  eleven  years  (i  894-1905).  From 
1863-72  a  W.A.  teacher  was  stationed  at  Milan  in  Italy  ;  the 
Society  still  makes  an  annual  grant  to  orphanage-work  in  that 
country.  In  1904  Katherine  Wykes  began  the  quiet,  faithful 
service  at  Barcelona  which  has  brought  the  living  Christ  into 
many  a  Spanish  home. 

The  earliest  agents  of  the  Auxiliary  were  appointed  solely  as 
teachers,  most  of  these  being  trained  Westminster  students. 
Their  outlook  in  India  for  many  years  was  discouraging  enough. 
Little  visible  fruit  could  be  reaped  :  parents  were  slow  to  send 
their  girls  to  school  and  removed  them,  often  to  distant  homes, 
while  at  quite  a  tender  age.  It  was  impossible  to  train  native 
teachers  under  such  conditions.  Small  schools  had  to  be  mul- 
tiplied, since  the  young  children  could  not  travel  far  ;  to  provide 
a  satisfactory  staff  was  out  of  the  question — Christian  native 
assistants  were  still  to  seek.  The  teaching  of  the  school  seemed 
like  writing  on  water.  In  some  cases  the  children  could  be 
followed  up  in  their  homes  ;    but  zenana-bred  apathy,  and  the 

♦  The  Wesley  Deaconess  Order  has  recently  supplied  a  principal  to 
the  Bird  College  at  Port-au-Prince,  Haiti. 


WOMEN'S  WORK  FOR  MISSIONS  171 

distraction  of  the  white  woman's  dress  and  manners,  made  it 
difficult  to  produce  more  than  a  vague  impression  of  the  visitor's 
kindly  interest  in  the  family.  The  day-school  thus  proved  a 
defective  instrument,  and  the  children  of  caste  parents  might  not 
become  boarders — Mrs.  Batchelor's  success  in  gaining  them  (p.  169) 
was  short-lived.  In  1879,  however,  the  Society  reported  two 
girls'  boarding-schools  in  India,  with  pupils  coming  from  Chris- 
tian homes.  The  experiment  proved  the  extreme  value  of  this 
kind  of  education.  Girls  of  Christian  parentage,  touched  by  the 
Gospel  from  infancy  and  remaining  under  instruction  till  their 
more  receptive  years,  have  provided  teachers,  school-matrons, 
Biblewomen,  wives  for  catechists  and  native  ministers — the  body 
of  Christianly-bred  women  on  whom  the  existence  of  a  Christian 
society  depends.  The  first  step  in  the  uplifting  of  Indian 
womanhood  had  been  taken. 

The  dawn  of  a  better  day  approached,  through  lurid  clouds. 
The  years  1876-79  have  a  black  record  in  South  India. 
Famine  scourged  the  land.  Grain  was  imported,  but  lay  rotting 
on  the  beach  for  want  of  transport :  the  oxen  perished  ;  railways 
were  wanting  where  need  was  sorest.  Children  by  hundreds  were 
left  orphan  in  the  depopulated  hamlets.  Aided  by  Government, 
the  missionaries  gathered  these,  wherever  they  could,  into  hastily 
constructed  orphanages  :  the  Industrial  Schools  of  Hassan  and 
Tumkur  in  the  Mysore  Province,  and  of  Karur  on  the  Kaveri, 
were  thus  commenced.  Here  were  a  multitude  of  children,  thrown 
upon  the  care  of  the  missionaries,  to  whom  they  could  give  "  the 
nurture  of  the  Lord."  Many  of  these  foundUngs  suffered  in  body 
or  mind  irreparably  ;  many  slipped  away  through  the  gates  of 
death ;  but  a  goodly  number  survived,  to  be  the  reward  of  the 
love  and  patience  spent  upon  their  rearing.  Capable  Christians 
grew  out  of  these  nurseries  in  later  years,  inspired  by  gratitude 
and  well  fitted  to  assist  their  saviours. 

Ceylon  presented  a  different  problem.  Caste  is  confined  to 
the  Tamil  population  ;  even  amongst  orthodox  Hindus  it  is  less 
rigidly  maintained  than  in  India.  Non-Christian  girls  can  be 
brought  into  the  boarding-schools.  The  embarrassments  of  the 
Women's  Auxiliary  in  this  field  soon  became  those  of  success. 
The  cumulative  value  of  long-established  schools,  for  both  sexes, 
is  seen  at  Jaffna,  where  a  strong  and  intelligent  native  Christian 
community  has  been  fostered  by  this  means.  As  elementary 
teaching  for  girls  became  appreciated,  Buddhist  and  Hindu 
schools  have  been  started  in  rivalry,  both  on  the  island  and  the 
mainland.    The  competition  is  an  incentive  to  improved  efficiency. 


172  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

The  work  of  the  Bible-woman  is  a  product  of  the  school.  Sun- 
jivi  of  the  Mysore — a  pupil  of  the  mission-school  and  the  wife  of  a 
Christian  man — was  the  first  Methodist  woman  to  bear  this  title 
in  India,  receiving  her  appointment  in  1868.  Our  Indian  Bible- 
women  go  into  the  villages,  as  the  evening  darkens  and  the 
labourers  return  from  the  fields,  and  talk  of  Jesus  to  the  groups 
that  gather  round  them  ;  they  penetrate  to  the  women's  quarters 
of  caste-houses,  where  they  read  from  Scripture  and  re-tell  its 
stories,  preaching  in  the  language  of  the  heart.  Such  speakers 
reproduce  the  Oriental  setting  and  home-scenery  of  the  Bible  as 
no  Westerner  can  do.  The  plain,  careworn  face  of  the  narrator 
kindles  as  she  speaks  :  her  simple  gestures  dramatize  each  point 
while  she  pictures  the  lowly  birth,  the  beneficent  life,  the  cruel 
death  of  the  Saviour.  Comment  is  scarcely  needed  ;  all  might 
have  happened  yesterday  1 

In  China  Mrs.  Piercy  of  Canton,  herself  a  trained  teacher,  made 
girls'  education  from  the  beginning  part  of  the  business  of  the 
Mission.  From  1862-78  she  had  the  assistance  of  workers 
supplied  by  the  Women's  Auxiliary  ;  Jane  Radcliffe  (1866-78) 
devoted  herself  to  the  raising  up  of  native  teachers.  This  is 
becoming  the  chief  task  of  the  English  school-mistress  on  the 
mission-field  ;  here  lies  our  hope  for  the  wide  diffusion  of  Christian 
knowledge  and  habits. 

ReUeved  of  school-work,  Mrs.  Piercy  set  on  foot  cottage-meet- 
ings for  Chinese  women.  While  in  India  socialities  of  this  nature 
are  possible  only  in  the  few  places  where  advanced  ideas  prevail, 
"  in  China  women  naturally  cluster  together,"  says  one  who 
knows  them  well ;  "  custom  gathers  audiences  in  corners  apart 
from  men."  To  such  groups,  sitting  at  their  ease  "  on  a  flat 
roof  in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  crossing  the  ferry,  or  travelling 
by  steamer  or  train,"  the  Chinese  Bible- woman  gives  her  mes- 
sage :  "  her  tongue  becomes  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer,  and  zeal 
covers  her  as  with  a  cloak  !  "  The  first  of  this  sacred  sisterhood 
was  a  Christian  widow,  who  came  to  Mr.  Piercy  in  her  sorrow. 
"  You  must  go  out  and  preach  I  "  said  he,  disregarding  her  plea 
that  she  could  not  read.  Finding  the  missionary  inexorable,  the 
woman  went  in  tears  to  her  Chinese  pastor,  who  echoed  Mr. 
Piercy's  advice  and  told  her  to  take  her  Bible  and  invite  the  aid 
of  any  reader  in  the  company  she  might  address.  This  the 
simple-hearted  woman  did  ;  where  she  found  a  circle  of  listeners, 
she  "  first  read  to  them  out  of  her  own  heart,  and  then  they  read 
to  her  from  the  Book  of  Life.  Deep  answered  unto  deep  ;  and 
many   were   converted   under   this   uncultured   ministry."     The 


WOMEN'S  WORK  FOR  MISSIONS  173 

Bible  women  of  that  early  time,  chosen  in  middle-age,  joined  the 
children  at  school  and  learned  to  spell  out  the  Gospels  in  the 
Chinese  characters.  (Women's  classes  of  this  sort  are  still  a 
feature  of  the  Chinese  school-system.)  Thus  equipped,  they 
sallied  forth  in  the  name  and  power  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  visit 
haunts  of  filth  and  misery  such  as  one  dare  not  describe, — their 
neat  aspect  and  joy-lit  countenance  a  veritable  "  hght  shining  in 
a  squalid  place  !  " 

In  1869  the  Ladies'  Committee  received  a  letter  from  the 
Hankow  Chinese  Minister  depicting  the  gross  ignorance  of  the 
heathen  women,  and  entreating  them  to  send  "  some  honourable 
person  .  .  .  bearing  the  true  light,  to  enlighten  these  girls." 
The  Minister's  wife  had  been  educated  at  Shanghai,  and  was 
eager  to  co-operate  with  a  European  worker.  Straitened  re- 
sources delayed  the  granting  of  this  petition  until  1885,  when 
Gertrude  T.  Williams  (Mrs.  Bridie)  was  appointed  to  school- 
work,  and  Louisa  Grace  Sugden  (Mrs.  Owen)  to  medical  work  in 
this  Mission  {see  p.  160).  At  the  same  date  the  Canton  post, 
unfilled  for  six  years  through  local  difficulties,  was  re-occupied  by 
Annie  M.  Wood,  who  laboured  here  with  devotion  for  nearly 
twenty  years,  and  acquired  an  exceptional  knowledge  of  Chinese 
language  and  life. 

Prior  to  the  year  1885,  women's  missionary  gifts  had  been 
applied  almost  wholly  to  education  or  direct  evangelism.  One 
English  mistress  superintended  a  number  of  day-schools  in  differ- 
ent places  and  supervised  their  native  staff,  while  another  would 
have  charge  of  a  band  of  Bible-women,  acting  as  their  instructor 
and  accompanying  them  in  turn  upon  their  rounds  of  visitation. 
In  course  of  time  Hindu  wives,  who  had  been  mission-scholars 
in  childhood,  began  to  request  instruction  at  home.  "  Zenana- 
teachers  "  thus  came  to  be  employed,  who  added  secular  training 
to  their  Bible-lessons.  These  continuation-classes  greatly  ex- 
tend the  influence  of  the  school ;  but  they  require  very  careful 
oversight.  Fees  defraying  the  cost  are  ordinarily  paid  for  such 
visits. 

The  Women's  AuxiUary  counted  in  1885,  beside  the  three 
ladies  just  despatched  to  China  and  Miss  Beauchamp  of  the 
Pondoland  Mission  {see  p.  170),  seven  agents  in  Ceylon  and  seven 
in  India.  Anna  Maria  Beauchamp  even  surpassed  her  sister 
Charlotte  in  length  of  service  ;  with  brief  intervals,  her  work  in 
Ceylon  and  India  covered  nearly  forty  years  (i  869-1 905). 

Out  of  the  Indian  group  of  1885  two  are  still  at  work  in  the 
Mysore  District,  rich  in  the  skill  reaped  from  experience, — viz., 


174  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Constance  E.  Parsons  and  Rose  White  (from  Tasmania).  In 
Haidarabad  City  and  in  Faizabad  (Lucknow)  our  workers  have 
found  access,  at  no  Httle  personal  risk,  to  the  Muhammadan 
women,  bringing  them  comfort  and  Hght.  No  part  of  the 
Society's  work  demands  greater  nerve  and  discretion  than  the 
invasion  of  the  harem. 

About  the  same  time,  women-helpers  made  the  earliest  attempts 
on  the  part  of  our  Mission  at  systematic  medical  relief  on  the 
Indian  field.  The  first  appeal  for  such  workers,  addressed  to  the 
Auxiliary  at  home,  came  from  the  Chairman  of  the  newly-formed 
Haidarabad  District  {see  p.  185),  in  1880.  In  many  respects 
Haidarabad  was  a  century  behind  the  Presidencies.  Visiting  and 
school-work  were  more  difficult  among  the  Hindus  of  this  State 
than  in  most  other  parts  of  India,  while  the  Muhammadan  capital 
was  resolutely  barred  against  Christ.  The  Saviour's  love  must 
here  be  displayed  by  deeds  rather  than  words.  There  was  no 
appetite  for  knowledge — ignorance  in  women  was  deemed  the 
law  of  nature  ;  but  the  assuagement  of  anguish  and  disease 
softens  every  heart.  At  that  point  of  assault  the  double  fortress 
of  Hinduism  and  Islam  might  be  stormed.  The  sum  of  unrelieved 
yet  medicable  sufiering  in  this  backward  country  was  appalling. 
Even  to-day,  in  the  Presidency  towns  where  Government  physi- 
cians and  sanitary  oversight  are  found,  it  is  reckoned  that  not 
half  the  children  born  survive  infancy,  and  not  half  the  sick  and 
dying  receive  intelligent  treatment.  But  in  regions  untouched 
by  Western  science  and  hygiene,  where  Eastern  custom  has  full 
play,  every  cause  that  makes  for  lowered  vitality  and  disease  is 
rife  ;  pain  and  death  run  riot.  Women-doctors  and  nurses  are 
required  in  the  East,  not  only  to  translate  the  love  of  God  into 
experience  by  the  repulse  of  death  and  relief  of  misery,  but  to 
give  the  people  new  conceptions  of  a  wholesome  life.  While  the 
belief  obtains  that  all  sufiering  is  the  infliction  of  a  vindictive 
god,  sanitary  precautions  appear  profane ;  garments  reeking 
with  cholera-poison  will  still  be  washed  at  the  village-well,  the 
washers  going  from  their  task  to  offer  propitiatory  sacrifice  to 
the  goddess  of  the  plague  I 

Josiah  Cox  of  Hankow  {see  p.  158)  was  in  England  when  the 
appeal  from  Haidarabad  for  a  lady  doctor  was  made.  He  pleaded 
for  compliance,  and  begged  like  aid  for  China.  Some  monstrous 
physical  evils,  such  as  the  religious  custom  of  premature  marriage, 
are  peculiar  to  India  ;  but  in  Chinese  homes  the  rules  of  health 
are  equally  unknown  ;  foot-binding  is  only  the  most  conspicuous 
of  the  forms  of  cruelty  affecting  Chinese  women.     The  native 


WOMEN'S  WORK  FOR  MISSIONS  175 

medicine  and  surgery  are  largely  compounded  of  superstitious 
absurdity  and  ingenious  torture.  The  entreaty  made  by  these 
miseries  was  slow  to  take  effect.  Imagination,  rather  than 
heart,  was  lacking  in  the  case.  The  conditions  of  Eastern  society 
are  far  remote  from  those  familiar  to  English  ladies  ;  they  bear 
on  the  Ufe  of  women  in  ways  too  shameful  to  be  plainly  told.  It 
was  needful  for  Mrs.  Wiseman,  while  distressed  by  the  task,  to 
voice  for  years  to  the  women  of  our  Church  the  harrowing  cry 
of  their  sisters  in  India  and  China,  before  the  awful  facts  reached 
the  conscience  of  those  from  whom  salvation  must  come. 

Not  till  1884  was  the  first  lady  sent  to  this  work  ;  not  till  1900 
was  a  fully  qualified  medical  woman  forthcoming.  Honour  to 
the  brave  women  who  with  inadequate  training  and  make-shift 
appliances,  compelled  by  desperate  necessity,  took  in  hand — 
often  through  God's  blessing  with  marvellous  success — operations 
that  would  have  been  formidable  to  an  expert  and  well-equipped 
surgeon !  Such  responsibilities  could  not  be  endured  for  long, 
nor  our  workers  permitted  to  run  such  hazards.  The  work  of 
the  W.  A.  had  reached  a  stage  at  which  it  was  bound  to  enUst 
trained  professional  skill,  or  retreat  before  the  misery  challenging 
its  agents  in  Oriental  lands.  The  West  could  not  in  conscience 
offer  less  than  its  best  in  relief  to  the  agony  of  the  East. 

The  story  of  the  Gospel  of  healing  in  the  Medak  Mission  (Hai- 
darabad)  is  one  of  the  romances  of  modern  evangelism.  Early 
in  1897  Sara  A.  Harris  and  Emilie  Posnett  joined  Miss  Posnett's 
brother,  who  was  in  charge  of  this  station,  and  began  their  work 
as  doctors.  Famine  was  sweeping  over  the  land,  with  cholera 
in  its  train.  The  people  died  in  hundreds,  many  being  hastily 
buried  at  the  sides  of  empty  tanks,  where  the  hungry  survivors 
scratched  up  grass  and  roots  for  a  pitiful  meal.  One  consolation 
came  amid  the  overwhelming  distress  :  impoverished  parents, 
who  witnessed  the  humanity  of  Christ's  servants,  were  thankful 
to  trust  their  children  to  the  missionary's  care.  First  the  desti- 
tute boys  were  gathered  into  a  school-home.  After  a  while,  by 
persistent  effort,  the  missionary  ladies  succeeded  in  devising  a 
similar  refuge  for  the  famine-girls.  In  the  height  of  the  distress 
came  the  cheering  news,  that  the  late  Solomon  Jevons  of  Birming- 
ham, that  generous  friend  of  Medical  Missions,  was  providing 
funds  for  a  proper  dispensary  in  lieu  of  "  the  little  room  off  our 
bedroom,"  as  the  ladies  wrote,  which  hitherto  had  served  the 
purpose.  In  1898  we  read  of  church,  schools,  and  dispensary 
being  built  together. 

The  Report  of  1899  tells  us  that  "  in  the  touch  of  the  lady 


176  .    WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

doctor  magic  lies.  Throughout  these  Haidarabad  villages,  wher- 
ever she  has  passed,  the  evangelist  finds  open  ears  and  open  eyes 
and  an  open  heart."  The  change  in  the  popular  attitude  which 
followed  the  relief-campaign,  was  indicated  by  two  successive 
petitions  from  the  Muhammadan  nobles  to  the  Nizam  (the  ruling 
prince)  concerning  the  Wesleyan  Mission  :  in  1888  they  desired 
him  "  to  refuse  the  infidel  dogs  a  foothold  among  the  company 
of  the  faithful  in  Medak  "  ;  ten  years  later,  the  same  men  request 
him  to  "  give  freely  to  the  Padri  Sahib  and  his  pious  sisters  all 
the  land  they  ask  !  "  In  1899  the  chief  Moulvi  invited  the 
missionaries,  and  their  out-caste  flock,  to  a  sumptuous  feast,  at 
which  he  waited  in  person  on  his  unaccustomed  guests.  Medical 
ministry  brought  about  this  revolution. 

Since  1904,  a  fully  qualified  medical  woman  has  been  stationed 
at  Medak,  with  three  trained  European  assistants  ;  the  agencies 
of  the  hospital  cover  a  wide  surrounding  area.  Medical  touring 
is  now  possible,  extending  the  influence  of  the  Mission  in  all 
directions.  Where  the  doctor  has  turned  the  key,  the  evangelist 
and  teacher  step  in  ;  each  case  of  healing,  as  in  the  ministry  of 
Jesus  and  the  Apostles,  supplies  another  Gospel-text. 

Medak  furnishes  a  sample  of  the  work  which  our  women-healers 
are  doing  in  twenty  different  centres.  Where  results  are  less 
signal,  it  is  because  the  work  of  the  medical  pioneer  has  been  ill- 
followed  up.  If  preachers  and  catechists  are  lackmg,  the  soil  is 
in  vain  prepared  for  the  seed  of  the  kingdom,  and  grows  sterile 
again.  Medical  work  fulfils  its  purpose  when  it  is  supported  by 
the  complementary  Christian  agencies,  and  the  breadth  and 
weight  of  the  wedge  follow  its  "  thin  end  "  ;  it  is  an  auxiliary 
to  the  spiritual  Gospel,  not  a  substitute  for  it.  The  native 
Christian  nurses  and  Bible-women  do  much  to  supply  this  neces- 
sity. Such  assistants  could  not  have  been  found  in  former 
years  ;  now  they  are  busy  in  every  Mission-hospital  and  dis- 
pensary. The  Chinese  women  particularly  excel  in  nursing  ; 
the  Hankow  Hospital  draws  a  revenue  from  the  earnings  of  its 
trained  girls  employed  as  private  nurses,  who  carry  Christ  with 
them  to  many  a  house  where  He  was  not  known. 

Industrial  Missions  are  concerned  chiefly  with  the  training 
of  boys.  But  on  the  women's  side  also,  needle-work  and  lace- 
work  provide  a  means  of  missionary  training,  particularly  in  India 
and  Ceylon  ;  and  boarding-schools  supply  instruction  in  house- 
hold arts.  Where  individual  converts  are  baptized,  they  are 
often  turned  adrift  by  their  families,  and  must  be  put  in  the  way 
of  winning  a  liveUhood.     Orphan  children  must  be  trained  to 


WOMEN'S  WORK  FOR  MISSIONS  177 

usefulness.  The  poor  in  their  homes  may  be  inspired  with  ideas 
of  cleanUness  and  order,  and  taught  the  right  care  of  children. 

Amongst  the  pariah  women  of  Ikkadu,  in  the  Madras  District, 
industrial  teaching  has  become  an  important  arm  of  the  Mission. 
Unkempt,  filthy  in  habits  and  speech,  accustomed  to  no  control 
save  that  of  fear,  with  hands  stiffened  by  field-labour,  these  out- 
caste  creatures  presented  a  problem  seemingly  as  morally  hopeless 
as  it  was  repulsive.  Their  homes  were  visited  ;  their  sick  were 
tended  ;  they  were  drawn  to  the  Lace-hall,  where  their  clumsy 
hands  took  a  new  ply.  Gradually  love  and  patience,  and  the 
sight  of  decency  and  the  sound  of  gentle  voices,  tell  upon  them  ; 
the  trampled  and  buried  womanliness  slowly  reappears.  Temper 
and  tongue  are  checked  ;  hair  and  face  and  clothes  by  degrees 
assume  a  human  aspect ;  the  contrast  between  the  last  newcomer; 
crouching  in  animal  fear  by  the  door,  and  the  long-established 
worker  is  marvellous  indeed.  While  fingers  are  busy,  the 
Bible-woman  reads  aloud,  or  there  is  a  pause  for  singing  ;  each 
pupil  learns  at  her  work  some  Scripture-story  or  simple  Christian 
lyric,  which  she  carries  home  to  repeat  to  her  family  and  neigh- 
bours. The  babies  come  with  their  mothers  ;  and  hints  and 
lessons  on  their  management  slip  in,  along  with  the  rest.  It  is 
a  painful,  tedious  task  for  the  instructor  ;  mistakes  and  dis- 
appointments are  inevitable.  Not  in  a  day,  nor  in  a  generation, 
are  coarse  pariah  women  made  into  gentle,  intelligent  Christians. 
But  from  the  children  and  children's  children  of  such  as  these 
God  is  "  raising  up  sons  "  and  daughters  "  unto  Abraham." 

Other  remedial  agencies,  in  which  the  hands  of  women  play 
the  chief  part,  are  operating  on  the  Mission-fields  ;  they  must 
be  vastly  multiplied,  if  we  are  to  provide  the  manifold  channels 
demanded  by  our  Lord's  compassion.  Leper-asylums,  rescue- 
homes  for  the  fallen,  refuges  for  widows  and  for  excommunicated 
converts,  are  necessary  adjuncts  to  our  work,  in  this  place  or  in 
that.  Orphanages  for  destitute  children  are  needed  in  the  East, 
even  more  than  at  home.  Neither  Hinduism  nor  Buddhism 
makes  provision  for  the  waifs  and  strays  of  society.  Well- 
disposed  Brahman  gentlemen  will  themselves  direct  forlorn 
children  whom  they  encounter,  to  the  Christian  missionary  for 
shelter.  Amongst  our  most  valued  Orphanage-mothers  is  Fannie 
Cooke,  of  the  Uva  Mission  in  the  hill-country  of  south-east  Ceylon, 
who,  for  nearly  twenty-five  years  has  laboured  with  quiet  per- 
sistence and  wisdom  of  heart,  honoured  by  Sinhalese  and  English 
alike.  Scores  of  well-trained  ayahs,  teachers,  godly  wives  and 
mothers,  owe  their  very  selves  to  the  salvation  she  has  ministered. 

M 


178  WESLEY^S  WORLD  PARISH 

Some  of  the  W.A.  workers  are  drawn  from  the  Order  of  the 
Wesley  Deaconesses.  Other  Deaconesses,  serving  as  teachers 
and  school-matrons  in  West  Africa  {comp.  p.  197),  have  been 
enhsted  by  the  W.M.M.S.  directly.  The  health-record  of  the 
West  African  Deaconesses  deserves  attention.  Since  the  first  of 
these  ladies  was  sent  out  in  1904,  they  have  suffered  no  loss  by 
death  or  by  permanent  incapacitation.  Three  workers  are  at- 
tached to  each  boarding-school,  two  being  on  duty  together,  and 
the  third  on  furlough.  One  Sister  superintends  the  teaching  of 
the  girls  ;  her  companion  is  in  domestic  charge,  and  trains  the 
girls  in  housewifery  and  matters  of  health.  The  advantages  of 
this  system  are  demonstrated  by  experience.  The  Deaconess 
Order,  with  its  large  constituency  and  excellent  training,  should 
prove  a  valuable  ally  to  the  Women's  Auxiliary  ;  Foreign  Mis- 
sions provide  a  boundless  field  for  its  activities. 

The  home-organization  of  the  Women's  Auxiliary  has  received 
a  great  development  since  the  days  of  its  beginning  {see  pp. 
168-170).  As  Mrs.  Hoole's  strength  declined,  the  administration 
devolved  chiefly  upon  Mrs.  and  the  Misses  Farmer.  Many  names 
are  fragrant  amongst  these  of  the  home-helpers,  for  the  loving 
and  faithful  labour  they  have  given  to  the  Committee's  work  in 
its  several  departments.  Mrs.  Ligdett  and  Mrs.  Everett  Green 
are  remembered  with  especial  gratitude  on  this  account.  The 
former  was  through  many  years  a  trusted  counsellor  in  everything 
that  touched  the  Auxiliary's  work  ;  the  latter,  through  her  social 
and  literary  gifts  and  the  wide  range  of  her  friendships,  made  the 
Auxiliary  known  throughout  Methodism,  and  furnished  a  link 
between  it  and  other  Missionary  Societies. 

?  But,  for  the  workers  on  the  field,  the  personality  of  Mrs.  (Caro- 
line Meta)  Wiseman,  during  the  last  thirty  years,  has  dominated 
every  other.  On  the  death  of  her  husband  in  1874  {see  p.  31), 
taken  from  her  after  nine  months  of  happy  union,  instead  of 
returning  to  her  beloved  home-mission  work  at  Bath,  Mrs.  Wise- 
man, in  accordance  with  what  she  believed  to  be  his  wish,  remained 
in  London  to  serve  the  Ladies'  Missionary  Committee.  Three 
years  later  she  became  its  Foreign  Secretary,  and  so  remained 
till  within  six  weeks  of  her  death,  which  befell  in  July,  191 2. 
Mrs.  Wiseman  was  eminently  endowed  with  the  gifts  required  for 
this  calling — a  sympathetic  nature  and  quick  imagination,  a 
strong,  well-balanced  mind,  a  firm  will  and  a  kindly  but  unmis- 
takable authority,  vigorous  health  and  physical  endurance,  and 
a  winning  presence  and  address.  Above  all,  she  had  a  child-like 
faith  in  God,  and  a  burning  zeal  for  the  world's  salvation.     She 


ADVANCE  IN  THE  INDIAN  EMPIRE  179 

represented  the  best  womanhood  of  Methodism.  Under  her 
leadership  the  Ladies'  Committee  became  a  broader  and  more 
eflfective  instrument ;  it  widened  out  into  the  "  Women's  Auxil- 
iary." Mrs.  Wiseman's  knowledge  of  the  mission-field,  and  of  the 
personnel  of  the  Society,  made  her  intercourse  with  the  workers, 
in  most  cases,  intimate  and  confiding.  She  possessed  in  rare 
measure  the  art  of  inspiring  trust  and  affection.  Twice  she 
visited  the  Eastern  fields — in  1888  and  1902 — showing  herself 
an  indefatigable  traveller,  even  in  age  and  impaired  health.  She 
had  visited  each  Mission  in  imagination  a  hundred  times,  and 
came  prepared  to  appreciate  and  interpret  all  she  saw.  And 
she  brought  the  glow  of  her  own  courage  and  faith  to  warm  the 
hearts  of  lonely  or  despondent  toilers. 

During  recent  years  Mrs.  Wiseman's  increasing  work  was  done — • 
in  Committee,  at  the  desk,  on  the  platform — with  lessening  strength; 
again  and  again  the  excess  of  toil,  from  which  she  could  not  desist, 
brought  her  nigh  to  death.  To  the  end  she  was  granted  her 
heart's  desire — "  to  work  and  speak  and  think  "  for  Christ.  When 
the  final  summons  came,  it  found  her  still  occupied  with  the  one 
thing  that  had  been  the  burden  and  joy  of  her  life.  Mrs.  Wise- 
man's name  holds  a  foremost  place  in  the  history  of  Methodist 
Foreign  Missions.  Her  memory  supplies  a  great  example  of  the 
use  that  God  may  make,  in  these  modern  times,  of  the  influence 
and  powers  of  a  Christian  woman. 

Note. — The  income  of  the  W.A.  has  increased  in  the  fifty-two  years 
of  its  existence  from  less  than  ;^500  to  more  than  ;^20,ooo.  It  has  now 
(1 91 2)  ninety-four  Enghsh  workers  sent  out  to  the  field,  and  twelve 
others  locally  enlisted  ;  also  303  native  Bible-women  and  Zenana- 
workers,  in  its  employ.  It  supports  a  large  number  of  schools  and  other 
institutions.  The  W.M.M.S.  supplies  the  plant  for  its  work,  and  provides 
outfit  and  passage-money  for  the  Enghsh  workers.  The  management  of 
the  W.A.  at  home  is  independent  of  the  Parent  Society  ;  but  abroad 
each  agent  is  under  the  direction  of  the  Superintendent  of  the  Station 
at  which  she  labours. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Advance  in  the  Indian  Empire 

INDIA 

For  forty  years  Methodism  was  at  school  in  India  {see  Chapter 
IX.).  The  first  generation  of  the  missionaries  were  cheered  by 
individual  conversions  and  unmistakable  impressions  made  on 


i8o  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

groups  of  the  population  here  and  there  ;  Hinduism  as  a  whole, 
and  the  non-Christian  masses,  were  but  faintly  touched  by  their 
efforts.  The  result  of  these  painful  disciplinary  labours — spent 
in  mastering  the  situation,  in  learning  the  approaches  to  the 
Hindu  mind  and  acclimatising  Western  thought  to  an  Eastern 
atmosphere — is  manifest  in  the  very  different  aspect  and  charac- 
ter which  our  work  on  this  great  field  has  subsequently  assumed. 

Since  the  date  of  the  Indian  Mutiny  (with  which  Chapter  IX. 
closed),  the  number  of  Districts  within  the  Empire  in  which  the 
W.M.M.S.  is  working,  has  grown  from  two  to  seven  ;  its  English 
missionaries  have  been  multiplied  seven  and  a  half  times,  and  its 
local  (Native  and  East  Indian)  ministry  eleven  times  ;  our  ele- 
mentary day-schools  are  fourteen  times  their  former  number, 
and  our  Church-membership  has  increased  thirty-fold.  The 
Women's  Auxiliary  employs  eighty  skilled  agents  on  Indian 
stations,  where  before  there  were  none  [see  Chapter  XIII)  ;  these 
are  assisted  by  a  host  of  Nurses,  Biblewomen,  and  Zenana- 
teachers.  Within  the  area  formerly  occupied  by  the  Society 
(viz.,  Mysore,  and  the  Tamil  country  between  Madras  and  the 
Kaveri-basin)  our  English  mission-staff  has  been  quadrupled 
since  1857,  the  indigenous  ministry  multiplied  by  seven  and  a  half, 
and  the  Church-membership  by  fourteen.  Along  with  other 
Protestant  Churches,  Methodism  has  now  thrust  its  roots  into 
the  soil ;  the  Gospel  of  Christ  is  a  recognised  and  evergrowing 
factor  in  the  life  of  India. 

In  the  occupation  of  the  new  Districts  opened  since  1857, 
Methodist  soldiers  pointed  the  way  {comp.  pp.  42,  78,  125).  The 
events  of  the  Mutiny  called  attention  to  the  needs  of  the  British 
Army  in  India  ;  in  the  Stations  for  1859,  accordingly,  we  find 
Benjamin  Broadley  (from  Ceylon)  posted  at  Bombay*  and  Daniel 
Pearson  at  Calcutta,  "  to  labour  for  the  spiritual  benefit  of  the 
Methodist  soldiers . ' '  These  appointments  mark  the  first  beginning 
of  our  present  Missions  in  North  India. 

Bombay 

Dr.  Coke's  party  landed,  after  his  death,  at  Bombay,  and  Mr. 
Harvard  was  detained  there  for  six  months  {see  p.  no).  He 
gathered  a  small  Society  ;  and  after  some  delay  John  Horner 
was  sent  to  take  his  place,  with  a  view  to  Hindu  mission-work. 
He  was  a  scholarly  and  able  man,  and  learned  the  Marathi 
language.     A  second  missionary  was  sent  to  Horner's  aid  ;    but 

*  Karachi,  in  the  Province  of  Sind,  was  Mr.  Broadley's  actual  station  ; 
it  was  afterwards  taken  over  by  the  American  Methodists. 


ADVANCE  IN  THE  INDIAN  EMPIRE  i8i 

the  heavy  cost  and  scanty  fruit  of  six  years'  labour  discouraged 
the  Committee  at  home,  and  the  Mission  was  abandoned. 

Not  till  1887  was  Bombay  re-occupied,  by  George  William 
Clutterbuck.  Three  years  earlier  systematic  preaching  had  been 
commenced  by  Methodist  laymen  in  and  near  Bombay.  Clutter- 
buck  was  a  man  of  resolution  and  daring  faith.  He  succeeded 
within  a  few  years  in  building  up  a  strong  and  self-supporting 
English  Church  in  the  city.  From  this  centre  our  work  amongst 
the  military  has  been  actively  developed  under  the  energetic 
leadership  of  Joseph  H.  Bateson,  and  the  staff  steadily  increased, 
until  at  the  present  date  Methodist  Chaplains  occupy  effectively 
the  cantonments  of  north-west  India,  from  Belgaum  to  Peshawar 
and  Quetta.  This  is  not  the  place  to  enlarge  upon  the  Army 
work  of  Methodism,  though  it  is  a  service  to  the  whole  Empire, 
and  reacts,  directly  or  indirectly,  upon  all  our  missionary  in- 
terests. In  1 90 1  the  Bombay  and  Punjab  District  came  into 
existence,  by  separation  from  that  of  "  Lucknow  and  Benares." 

Out  of  the  English  work  at  Bombay  a  mission  to  the  heathen 
inevitably  grew.  Behind  the  hired  room  in  which  George  Clut- 
terbuck first  preached,  a  dispensary  was  opened  for  Marathi 
women.  Soon  a  Marathi  evangelist  and  schoolmaster  was  found, 
in  Samuel  Rahator,  who  was  in  1899  admitted  to  the  ministry, 
and  labours  to  this  day  in  his  solitary  Mission  with  staunch 
fidelity  and  growing  influence.  In  the  awful  visitation  of  the 
plague  at  Bombay,  Rahator  rendered  Christ-like  service  amongst 
the  dying  and  panic-stricken  ;  and  he  rescued  afterwards  a  troop 
of  orphans,  whom  Anglo-Indian  Methodists  have  helped  him  to 
rear.  Rahator's  Mission  is  making  incursions  into  Hindu  fast- 
nesses where  Christ  was  unknown.  Our  little  Native  Church  in 
Bombay  supplies  the  starting-point  for  an  effective  mission  to 
the  millions  of  Mahrattas,  the  most  vigorous  of  Hindu  peoples. 

Calcutta 

In  Calcutta  too  the  W.M.M.S.,  in  earlier  days,  "  began  to 
build."  Peter  Percival  and  Thomas  Hodson  {comp.  pp.  117,  123) 
laboured  in  this  city  from  1830-33.  They  had  gathered  a  little 
English  Society  round  them,  had  secured  well-situated  premises, 
had  commenced  Indian  schools  and  acquired  the  Bengali  vernac- 
ular, when  the  home  authorities,  impatient  for  "  quick  returns  " 
and  compelled  to  economize  by  the  needs  of  other  fields,  called 
off  the  two  missionaries,  to  their  sore  disappointment.  Pearson's 
appointment  in  1859  {see  above)  was  made  in  response  to  repeated 
appeals,  supported  by  subscriptions,  for  Methodist  ministrations. 


i82  WESLEY^S  WORLD  PARISH 

There  were  said  to  be  400  Wesleyan  soldiers  in  the  Presidency. 
The  work  began  at  the  Cantonment  of  Barrackpur,  10  miles 
distant  from  the  capital.  In  186 1  a  couple  of  missionaries  were 
planted  in  Calcutta  itself  ;  three  years  later  Lucknow  was  also 
occupied,  the  American  Methodists— earlier  on  the  spot— leaving 
the  English  work  to  us  and  concentrating  on  their  vernacular 
Mission.  At  each  of  these  centres  the  English  ministers  soon 
sought  out  the  natives,  and  the  number  of  Mission-stations  in- 
creased so  rapidly  that  in  1879  the  province  came  to  be  divided 
into  the  Calcutta  and  Lucknow  (afterwards  Lucknow-and- 
Benares)  Districts. 

Our  Bengali  Church  has  thriven  better  outside  than  within 
the  capital— particularly  at  Raniganj  (a  colliery  town,  consider- 
ably north-west  of  Calcutta),  and  in  Bankura  (lying  westward). 
The  latter  place  is  now  the  seat  of  a  Methodist  First-Grade  College 
and  an  Industrial  School,  which  serve  the  needs  of  the  whole 
District ;  in  both  towns  the  Mission  has  set  on  foot  Leper  Asylums, 
due  to  the  ardent  philanthropy  of  F.  W.  Ambery  Smith.  Not 
far  from  Bankura,  in  the  hilly  region  west  of  the  Calcutta  plain, 
are  found  the  Santals,  a  tribe  of  non-Hindu  aborigines  of  superior 
capability  and  receptiveness,  amongst  whom  George  William 
Olver  (son  of  the  Missionary  Secretary  of  that  name,  and  now 
Chairman  of  the  District)  was  the  first  resident  missionary  ;  this 
work  has  been  developed  and  consolidated  by  George  E.  Woodford. 

Lucknow  and  Benares 

Hindi  and  Hindustani*  are  the  languages  of  the  Lucknow 
District.  Here  Muhammadanism  is  more  rife  than  in  any  other 
of  our  Indian  fields  ;  converts  have  been  won  from  this  faith, 
but  not  hitherto  in  great  numbers".  Faizabad,  near  Lucknow. 
was  the  chief  scene  of  the  wonderful  career  of  "  Padri  Elliott  " 
(Joseph  Alexander  Elliott :  1878-1905),  an  Indian-born  Irishman, 
and  perhaps  the  greatest  vernacular  preacher  North  India  has 
yet  produced. 

At  Benares,  the  Mecca  of  Hinduism,  to  which  pilgrims  stream 
from  all  parts  of  India,  the  caste-people  are  peculiarly  difficult 
to  win  ;  and  the  more  virile,  combative  temper  of  the  North 
Indian  makes  his  hostility  to  the  foreign  faith  in  various  ways 
more  pronounced  than  that  of  the  southerner— on  the  other 
hand,  his  conversion,  when  it  takes  place,  is  apt  to  be  more 

♦  Throughout  India  Hindustani  is  the  language  spoken  by  Muham- 
madans  ;  our  missionary  agents  make  use  of  it  in  this  District,  ana 
among  the  ruling  classes  of  Haidarabad  {see  p.  185). 


Padri  Elliott   in   his   jNIunicipal   Pulpit   at   Faizabad. 


ADVANCE  IN  THE  INDIAN  EMPIRE  183 

decided.  Here,  as  elsewhere  throughout  the  East,  systematic 
open-air  preaching  in  the  towns  and  villages  is  pursued  as  the 
e very-day  business  of  the  Mission.  This  wayside  sowing  is 
especially  important  in  a  city  of  universal  resort  like  Benares  ; 
by  its  means  the  Gospel  reaches  pilgrims  from  all  parts  of  India, 
who  are  in  search  of  salvation.*  Of  visible  fruit  little  appears 
at  the  time.  Hindu  devotees  are  little  disposed  to  receive  the 
good  news  of  salvation  from  sin,  and  of  "  life  more  abundant." 
Here  and  there  amongst  the  listeners  is  a  Muhammadan  whose 
interest  has  been  awakened  in  the  Jesus  of  the  Koran,  or  some 
earnest  Hindu,  whom  his  ablutions  in  the  Ganges  and  the  ex- 
tortions of  Brahman  priests  have  left  deeply  disquieted.  The 
impression  made  on  such  hearers  by  the  street-preacher  is  deep- 
ened, it  may  be,  by  a  chance  word  heard  from  a  fellow-countryman 
or  a  chance  book  picked  up  in  the  railway  station,  and  some 
distant  missionary  has  the  joy  of  reaping  the  fruit  sprung  from 
seed  sown  amongst  the  passing  throngs  of  the  Holy  City. 

The  out-caste  tribe  of  Doms  in  Benares  is  yielding  good  fruit 
to  missionary  toil ;  what  is  said  of  the  Pariahs  later  {see  p.  189), 
applies  for  the  most  part  to  the  Doms  and  their  like  in  North  India. 

The  Lucknow  High  School  for  Boys,  and  the  Faizabad  Boarding 
School  for  Girls,  are  amongst  the  best  of  their  kind. 

Burma 

Burma  also  is  embraced  in  the  "  North  India  Provincial 
Synod  "  {see  p.  187).  Methodist  occupation  of  Upper  Burma 
followed  close  upon  political  annexation.  In  1886  a  Wesleyan 
Chaplain  accompanied  the  British  troops  to  Mandalay  ;  in  the 
following  year  Messrs.  Winston  (from  Ceylon)  and  J.  M.  Brown 
(of  Calcutta  ;  afterwards  Missionary  Secretary)  were  sent  to 
reconnoitre  the  new  Province.  The  Deputation  was  welcomed 
by  the  American  Baptists,  who  had  long  laboured  here  :  "  We 
wish  hundreds  of  you  were  coming,"  they  exclaimed. 

On  the  report  of  the  explorers,  Mandalay,  the  capital  of  Upper 
Burma,  was  chosen  as  the  headquarters  of  the  Mission,  and 
William  Ripley  Winston  remained  to  commence  the  work.  He 
was  speedily  joined  by  Arthur  H.  Bestall,  who  five  months  later 
opened  the  second  station  at  Pakokku,  150  miles  lower  down 
the  Irawaddy.     The  Mission  has  steadily  been  extended  and 

*  To  the  earnest  Hindu,  it  must  be  understood,  "  salvation  "  means 
deliverance  from  personal  life — approach  to  the  goal  of  absorption  in 
the  Deity. 


i84  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

strengthened  ;  and  this  District  now  includes  8  Circuits,  with 
8  regular  missionaries  and  2  women-workers  ;  its  Church-mem- 
bership numbers  508.  Schools  of  different  grades,  both  for  boys 
and  girls,  are  at  work  ;  a  Home  for  Lepers  is  established  at 
Mandalay.     Good  foundations  have  been  laid  for  the  future. 

Though  Burma  is  a  part  of  "  Further  India  "  and  is  attached 
to  Hindustan  politically,  it  is  as  unlike  India  as  a  tropical  Asiatic 
country  can  well  be.  The  people  are  Mongohan,  and  resemble 
the  Japanese  both  physically  and  temperamentally.  Their 
religion,  like  that  of  the  Sinhalese  {see  pp.  iii,  112),  is  Buddhism, 
associated  with  primitive  demon-worship  and  propitiatory  sacri- 
fice. Their  women  enjoy  an  un-oriental  freedom  ;  they  engage 
actively  in  business  and  social  festivities.  Family  purity  and 
discipline  are  lacking.  The  appeal  of  Burma  to  the  Christian 
missionary  is  less  pitiful  than  that  of  other  eastern  lands  ;  it  is 
no  less  urgent.  To  this  naturally  intelligent  but  irresolute  people 
Buddhism  has  been  a  soporific,  blighting  aspiration  and  industry. 
The  Burmese  race  is  threatened  with  extinction  through  sheer 
listlessness  and  frivolity.  Much  of  the  Burman  slackness  is  due 
to  the  dominance  of  the  Buddhist  monastery,  in  which  indolence 
has  become  a  fine  art.  The  indigenous  education,  confined  to 
the  boys,  is  in  the  hands  of  the  monks  ;  hence  the  want  of  fibre 
in  Burmese  manhood.  The  Gospel  opens  a  new  future  to  this' 
gay  and  charming  race.  Bringing  joy  to  the  careworn  and  con- 
fidence to  the  timid,  it  disciplines  the  unstable  and  self-indulgent 
to  strenuous  endeavour. 

The  upland  interior  of  Burma  is  peopled  by  rude  tribes  little 
affected  by  Buddhism.  Their  rehgion  is  a  primitive  animism, 
and  their  modes  of  life  are  those  of  a  comparativel}'-  mild  savagery. 
The  Mission  has  lately  approached  these  simple  people,  and  has 
formed  a  Circuit  in  the  southern  Shan  States,  for  which  a  mis- 
sionary is  now  in  requisition. 

Haidarabad 

From  the  south,  a  new  Indian  District  has  been  opened  to 
Methodism  since  1857,  in  the  State  of  Haidarabad.  When  the 
first  Indian  Conference  of  Protestant  Evangelical  Missions  was 
held  in  1858,  amongst  the  areas  marked  out  as  unevangeUzed 
were  north-western  Mysore,  and  the  Nizam's  Dominion  (of 
Haidarabad).  The  former  of  these  regions  was  reached  soon 
after  this  by  the  W.M.M.S.,  working  from  Bangalore  ;  the  latter 
country  had  long  been  in  its  thoughts.  In  1832  a  Methodist 
Society  was   reported   amongst  the   military  at   Secunderabad, 


ADVANCE  IN  THE  INDIAN  EMPIRE  185 

including  many  Indians  ;  an  application  was  made  for  a  resident 
missionary,  backed  by  a  subscription  of  ;^300.  The  Society  had, 
however,  too  frequently  scattered  its  slender  forces  in  the  en- 
deavour to  meet  such  appeals,  and  the  matter  was  indefinitely 
postponed.  Thirty  years  later  Dr.  Jenkins  visited  the  country, 
and  recommended  occupation ;  but  again  delay  arose.  At 
length,  in  1879,  the  advance  was  made,  when  William  Burgess 
(now  of  Rome  ;  see  p.  130)  was  despatched  from  Madras  and 
became  the  founder  of  the  Haidarabad  IVIission.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  a  native  helper,  Benjamin  P.  Wesley,  in  character  and 
labours  not  unworthy  of  his  surname.  They  settled  at  Chadar- 
ghat,  a  suburb  of  Haidarabad  City,  no  European  being  allowed 
to  reside  within  the  walls.  Next  year  they  were  joined  by 
Benjamin  Pratt  (subsequently  Mr.  Burgess's  successor  in  Chair- 
manship), the  stamp  of  whose  heartiness  and  strong  good-sense 
is  on  every  part  of  the  Mission.  Enghsh  work  amongst  the 
soldiers,  and  Tamil  preaching  to  the  immigrant  coolies  from  the 
south,  first  occupied  the  (Tamil-speaking)  missionaries  ;  but 
before  long  a  Telugu  congregation  was  gathered  at  Chadarghat — 
Telugu  {see  p.  123)  is  the  language  of  the  (Hindu)  bulk  of  the 
population.* 

For  four  years  the  Mission  was  confined  to  its  first  location, 
— until  it  won  the  goodwill  of  the  Nizam's  Government,  when  the 
restriction  was  removed.  Mr.  Pratt  then  opened  the  first  out- 
station,  at  Karim  Nagar  amongst  the  jungle-villages.  Here  the 
Mission  struck,  in  the  Malas,  a  stratum  of  Indian  life  uncommonly 
yielding  to  the  Gospel.  These  are  a  race  of  out-caste  soil-tillers, 
like  the  Pariahs  further  south  {see  below),  though  not  so  com- 
pletely trodden  down.  Faster  than  they  can  be  fed  and  folded, 
these  lost  sheep  are  flocking  to  the  Good  Shepherd.  Quite 
recently,  the  Madigas  of  this  region — out-castes  of  a  lower  grade 
than  the  Malas — have  been  moved  by  the  same  impulse.  Medak, 
where  Charles  W.  Posnett  has  laboured  with  splendid  energy 
and  resource  for  the  last  fifteen  years,  has  become  the  centre  of 
a  work  of  redeeming  love  as  moving  in  its  pathos,  and  blessed 
in  its  results,  as  anything  that  Methodist  annals  relate  {comp. 
p.  175).  The  Haidarabad  missionaries  have  won  the  name  of 
"  the  Pariah  Padris,"  sharing  their  Master's  reproach.  This 
youngest  of  the  Indian  Districts  is  fast  overtaking  the  rest  in 
the  number  of  its  converts.  The  Haidarabad  District  was 
separated  from  that  of  Madras  in  1886. 

*  Hindustani  {comp.  p.  182)  is  spoken  by  the  Muhammadans  irom 
North  India,  who  are  the  aristocracy  and  landowners. 


i86  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Madras  and  the  Mysore 

The  newer  Indian  Missions,  whose  establishment  we  have 
related,  built  upon  the  experience  gained  in  the  elder  Missions 
of  Madras*  and  the  Mysore  {see  Chapter  IX.).  These  Districts 
have  undergone  a  striking  and  manifold  development  since 
1857  ;  they  have  had  the  advantage  of  a  continuous  policy  for 
many  years,  under  the  wise  direction  of  James  Cooling,  Chairman 
at  Madras  since  1888,  and  of  Josiah  Hudson  who  held  the  Mysore 
Chairmanship  till  1895.  The  latter  was  succeeded  for  a  short 
time  by  J.  Alfred  Vanes,  and  he  by  David  Arthur  Rees — both 
able  administrators.  The  progress  of  these  Missions  has  been 
marked,  especially  in  the  following  directions  :  in  the  growth  of 
the  native  Indian  Church ;  the  advance  of  education  in  all  grades ; 
the  effective  use  of  the  Press  ;  the  establishment  of  medical  and 
philanthropic  institutions  ;  and  the  uphfting  of  the  Pariah  and 
low-caste  populations.  In  these  various  hues  of  progress  the 
Women's  Auxiliary  of  the  Missionary  Society,  from  1858  onwards, 
has  been  an  indispensable  ally  {see  Chapter  XIII.). 

(i)  The  solidarity  of  Indian  society,!  and  the  interweaving  of 
religion  with  family-life  and  daily  occupation,  made  it  impossible 
for  the  small  and  isolated  groups  of  converts  at  first  gathered 
to  attain  a  proper  Church-life.  Powers  of  self-nurture  and  self- 
propagation  developed  slowly  in  the  mission-communities. 
This  stage  has  first  been  reached  in  the  older  centres,  such  as 
Madras,  where  Christians  are  numbered  by  thouoands  and  belong 
to  all  grades  of  society  Here  the  Church  is  able  to  raise  its 
head  above  the  tyranny  of  the  caste-system.  Several  Indian 
Circuits  have  now  arrived  at  the  dignity  of  self-support,  and 
maintain  their  own  pastorate.  The  growth  of  Christian  character 
accompanies  this  progress.  In  Karur,  a  country-town  of  the 
Negapatam  District,  the  Industrial  School  (commenced  by  Henry 
Little,  to  provide  for  the  famine-orphans  of  1877)  has  contributed 
to  rear  a  Christian  community,  by  training  the  younger  generation 
in  ways  of  independent  livehhood.  In  some  villages  of  the 
Mysore,  as  amongst  the  Santals  of  Bengal  {see  p.  182),  the  mis- 
sionary has  been  compelled  to  obtain  land  on  which  to  settle  his 

*  The  District  of  Negapatam  and  Trichinopoly  was  formed  in  1885 
out  of  the  southern  part  of  the  Madras  District ;  its  chief  stations  he 
on  or  near  the  River  Kaveri. 

t  No  subjection  of  an  Englishman  to  the  tyranny  of  fashion,  to  the 
noblesse  oblige  of  his  order,  to  the  public  opinion  of  a  set  or  sect,  gives 
more  than  a  faint  idea  of  the  utter  identification  of  the  Hindu  with  his 
family  and  caste,  in  mind,  conscience,  and  will. 


ADVANCE  IN  THE  INDIAN  EMPIRE  187 

disinherited  converts,  and  a  rural  Christian  community  has  thus 
been  formed.  In  manifold  ways,  and  with  a  cumulative  growth, 
Indian  Methodism  is  acquiring  a  corporate  existence  and  character, 
and  learning  to  stand  on  its  own  feet.  The  Church-development 
upon  this  area  is  well  indicated  by  the  multiplication  of  the 
indigenous  ministry — from  seven  to  thirty-eight — between  the 
years  1857  and  1912. 

The  estabUshment  of  the  Provincial  Synods  in  1893  marks  a 
great  constitutional  step  toward  Church-autonomy.  The  first 
of  these  assembUes  met  at  Bangalore,  under  the  presidency  of 
Josiah  Hudson.  (Triennial  Conferences,  of  a  consultative  nature, 
had  previously  been  held.)  The  local  Districts  of  the  Mission 
are  grouped  in  three  Provinces  :  Ceylon,  with  its  North  and  South 
Districts  ;  South  India,  covering  four  Districts  ;  North  India, 
also  with  four  Districts,  including  Burma.  The  Provincial  Synods 
meet  yearly,  after  the  District  Synods,  reviewing  their  reports 
and  disciplinary  proceedings,  and  providing  Courts  of  Superior 
Jurisdiction,  whose  authority  (with  certain  reservations)  is  final. 
These  larger  Synods  contain  representatives  of  the  Indian  Ministry 
side  by  side  with  the  English  missionary  staff  ;  they  secure  a 
common  policy,  and  foster  a  connexional  spirit  contributing  to 
the  growth  of  an  Indian  Christendom.  Once  in  six  years,  or  so,  a 
General  Synod  is  called,  embracing  the  three  Provinces,  under 
the  presidency  of  a  delegate  from  England.  The  principle  of 
lay-representation  in  the  temporal  business  of  the  Church  has 
been  introduced  in  several  Synods,  and  is  applied  in  the  case  of 
self-supporting  Circuits. 

(2)  No  lesson  was  more  deeply  impressed  on  the  missionary 
mind  of  India  by  its  early  experience  than  the  imperative  need 
for  Christian  schools  and  colleges.  The  Indian  Government  became 
convinced  about  the  same  period  of  the  necessity  for  Western 
education.  Methodist  High  Schools  were  established  during  the 
'sixties  and  'seventies  at  Madras,  Negapatam,  Bangalore,  and 
Mysore  City,  several  of  which  have  grown  into  Colleges  ;  and  a 
network  of  elementary  schools  was  spread  through  the  towns 
and  villages  touched  by  the  Mission.  Through  the  humble 
day-school,  conducted  by  a  native  Christian  teacher  under  the 
missionary's  supervision,  the  Gospel  has  found  its  entrance  into 
hundreds  of  Hindu  villages  ;  the  evangelist  follows  the  teacher, 
and  the  chapel  follows  the  school-house.  The  guru  (teacher)  is 
an  object  of  reverence  everywhere  in  India.  Higher  institutions 
were  required  for  the  training  of  native  pastors  and  teachers  ; 
these  have  been  raised  up,  slowly  and  with  scanty  equipment. 


i88  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

in  the  several  Districts.  The  Churches  are  learning  to  co-operate 
for  such  purposes.  Years  ago  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland 
invited  the  C.M.S.  and  W.M.M.S.  to  join  hands  with  it  in  building 
up  the  Madras  Christian  College,  now  the  most  powerful  educa- 
tional instrument  in  South  India.  At  Bangalore  a  united  Theo- 
logical College,  for  India  and  Ceylon,  has  been  lately  formed  by 
a  combination  of  five  Missionary  Societies.  This  concentration, 
beside  effecting  a  considerable  economy,  will  tend  to  unify  Indian 
Christianity,  saving  it  from  sectarianism  and  giving  to  its  ministry 
a  richer  fellowship  in  Christ. 

Well-conducted  Christian  High  Schools  and  Colleges  attract 
the  best  youth  of  Indian  caste-families.  Non-Christian  fathers 
often  prefer  for  their  children  Christian  teaching  to  that  offered 
by  secular  Government  institutions,  because  of  the  higher  morale 
of  the  former.  The  demand  for  our  best  education  on  the  part  of 
the  upper  classes  of  India  afiords  a  providential  opportunity  of 
incalculable  value.  Through  this  avenue  Christian  ideas  and 
sentiments  are  being  conveyed  to  the  intellect,  and  often  to  the 
heart,  of  her  most  thoughtful  people.  A  powerful  ferment  is  set 
up,  generating  reforms  within  Hinduism  itself,  which  are  bound 
to  lead  to  Christ ;  the  attitude  of  Indian  society  toward  Chris- 
tianity is  slowly  but  inevitably  changing,  and  caste-persecution 
tends  to  relax  its  severity.  Innumerable  friendly  ties  are  created, ' 
despite  the  exclusiveness  of  Hindu  society.  The  Kellett  Institute 
in  Triplicane,  Madras — built  chiefly  through  the  contributions 
of  old  Christian  College  students  of  all  religions,  given  in  memory 
of  the  late  Frederick  William  Kellett — is  a  striking  evidence  of 
the  spell  which  the  personality  of  a  noble  teacher  casts  on  young 
India.  Direct  and  declared  conversions  won  by  Higher  Educa- 
tion have  not  been  numerous,  since  baptism  commonly  involves 
for  children  of  caste-families  the  loss  of  all  that  life  holds  dear, — 
often  the  deadliest  peril  to  life  itself  ;  but  they  are  all  the  more 
signal,  when  they  occur  ;  and  they  give  us  men  framed  to  lead 
their  fellows.  The  parallel  work  carried  on  in  girls'  education 
has  been  noticed  in  Chapter  XIII. 

(3)  Education  implies  literature.  This  consequence  began  to  be 
realised  half  a  century  ago,  when  John  Murdoch,  a  missionary 
of  the  L.M.S.  in  Ceylon,  founded  "  The  Christian  Literature 
Society,"  which  seeks  to  provide  a  wholesome  pabulum,  in  the 
Indian  and  Ceylonese  vernaculars,  for  the  great  host  of  readers 
created  by  modern  education.  Without  some  such  supply,  Indian 
youths  may  learn  reading  in  Mission  Schools  only  to  fill  their 
minds  with  the  foul  stories  of  Hindu  mythology,  or  with  the  cheap 


ADVANCE  IN  THE  INDIAN  EMPIRE  189 

translations  of  Western  Agnostic  and  Anti-Christian  books.  This 
Society  is  doing  a  most  necessary,  but  a  difficult  and  costly  work, 
and  deserves  the  encouragement  of  all  well-wishers  to  Eastern 
Christendom.  Several  of  our  ablest  missionaries  are  employed 
in  the  work  of  the  C.L.S.I.  Our  own  Press  in  Mysore  City  is  a 
valuable  missionary  agency,  and  aids  greatly  in  the  instruction 
of  the  Native  Church.  The  Vrittanta  Patrike,  founded  by  Dr. 
Henry  Haigh,  circulates  everywhere  amongst  Kanarese  readers ; 
it  is  one  of  the  best-conducted  and  most  influential  Christian 
newspapers  in  India. 

(4)  Our  Indian  medical  service  has  not  been  developed  so  largely 
as  the  Chinese.  The  British  Government  makes  some  provision 
for  the  helpless  sick,  and  combats  plague  and  epidemic  diseases  ; 
but  there  is  crying  need  for  the  missionary  physician — especially 
in  the  Native  States  {see  p.  174).  We  have  seven  hospitals — at 
Mylapore  and  Ikkadu  (Madras  District),  Mysore  City,  Hassan 
(Mysore  District),  Medak,  Nizamabad  (Haidarabad),  Akbarpur 
(L.  &  B.  District) — and  nine  dispensaries  at  work  in  India 
(mostly  in  the  South)  ;  all  but  one  of  these  are  under  the 
direction  of  the  Women's  Auxiliary.  In  raising  hospitals  the 
Mission  receives  liberal  help  from  the  native  community,  and  from 
grateful  patients,  both  amongst  Hindus  and  Muhammadans. 

The  Industrial  Schools,  at  Tumkur  (Mysore),  Karur  {see  p.  186), 
Nizamabad  (Nizam's  Dominion),  Bankura,  and  Jabalpur  (Central 
Provinces),  are  mostly  the  outcome  of  famine-relief  operations  ; 
they  have  become  permanent  institutions,  of  the  highest  value 
for  the  training  of  village-converts,  and  the  emancipation  of  in- 
dustry from  caste-fetters.  This  type  of  school  could  be  multiplied 
with  advantage  a  hundred-fold.  Other  kindred  agencies,  for  the 
uplifting  of  Indian  women,  have  been  described  at  length 
on  pp.  176,  177. 

(5)  The  redemption  of  the  Pariah  has  been  the  most  conspicuous 
feature  of  South  Indian  missionary  work  during  the  last  thirty 
years  {comp.  the  cases  of  the  Malas  of  Haidarabad,  p.  185,  and 
the  Doms  of  Benares,  p.  183)  :  this  movement  is  nothing  less  than 
a  social  upheaval.  It  commenced,  in  the  Madras  District,  with  the 
tours  of  George  McKenzie  Cobban  through  the  rural  districts  west- 
ward of  the  city  ;  and  it  has  been  developed  and  built  up,  round 
Ikkadu  in  the  Tiruvallur  Circuit,  by  William  Goudie.  To  "  the 
untouchable  "  Pariah  Hinduism  has  nothing  to  offer  but  contempt 
and  outrage  ;  he  is  damned  by  his  birth  !  The  services  of  the 
out-castes  are  useful  to  caste-men,  like  those  of  animals,  and  they 
are  treated  with  more  or  less  consideration  on  this  account ;   but 


igo  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

the  pious  Hindu  recognises  no  moral  bond  between  himself  and 
them.  On  their  side,  religion  is,  in  effect,  "  a  form  of  mental 
disease,  best  expressed  by  the  term  demonophobia."  Fear — of 
gods  and  men — and  perpetual  hunger  are  the  compelling  passions 
of  the  Pariah's  life.  These  most  wretched  people  in  multitudes 
have  now  caught  the  idea  that  somehow  there  is  help  for  them 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  !  Low-caste,  or  out-caste,  folk  turn  towards 
Christianity  commonly  in  clans  or  village-groups.  The  headman, 
moved  by  reasons  in  which  a  glimmering  of  spiritual  desire  mingles 
with  the  craving  for  physical  betterment,  comes  to  the  mis- 
sionary asking  that  his  people  may  have  a  Christian  teacher,  like 
others  they  have  heard  of.  Many  of  them  are  found,  so  far  as 
they  understand,  ready  to  believe  what  is  taught  them  about 
Christ  and  to  walk  in  "  the  Christian  way." 

What  is  the  condition  of  these  would-be  converts,  already 
counted  "  Christians  "  by  their  heathen  neighbours  ?  "  Imagine 
a  people  with  as  strong  an  inherited  tendency  to  idolatry  and 
its  ritual  as  the  inherited  craving  for  drink  which  afflicts  some 
poor  creatures  in  England  ;  to  whom  obscenity  in  speech  and 
act  is  as  commonplace  as  eating  and  drinking,  who  seem  scarcely 
capable  of  shame  for  anything  that  we  reckon  sin  ;  whose  know- 
ledge of  the  world  does  not  extend  beyond  their  own  little  group 
of  huts,  while  the  limbs  of  their  mental  and  spiritual  being  alike 
are  shrivelled  from  long  disuse.  .  .  .  The  unspeakably  important 
work  which  occupies  us,"  writes  the  missionary,  "  consists  in 
the  patient  training  of  such  people  as  these,  until  in  under- 
standing, character,  behaviour,  and  usefulness  they  have  reached, 
or  surpassed,  the  level  of  what  we  commonly  mean  by  Christian 
manhood  or  womanhood."  This  is  the  work  that,  through  God's 
mercy,  is  being  accomplished  in  an  ever-multiplying  number  of 
instances.  The  buried  intelligence  is  re-awakened,  the  brutalised 
conscience  recovered,  through  the  teaching  of  the  Gospel  and  by 
contact  with  the  softening  and  purifying  influences  of  Christian 
love. 

First,  the  children  of  both  sexes  are  gathered  into  a  simple 
school — it  is  a  testing  sacrifice  for  the  parents  to  forgo  the  tiny 
earnings  of  the  scholars.  The  catechist  and  his  wife  go  in  and 
out  amongst  the  villagers,  making  friends  with  them  by  degrees. 
They  live  in  a  clean,  well-kept  hut,  eating  decent  and  decently 
prepared  food  ;  their  children  are  neat,  orderly,  pleasant-man- 
nered ;  they  afford  simple  aid  to  their  neighbours  in  sickness 
and  trouble.  All  this  is  a  revelation, — slowly  apprehended, 
but   wonderfully  telling.     Public  worship  is  held  ;   passages  of 


ADVANCE  IN  THE  INDIAN  EMPIRE  191 

Scripture,  Christian  lyrics,  and  rudiments  of  Christian  doctrine 
are  taught  in  catechetical  fashion,  to  as  many  as  will  listen  and 
repeat.  Little  by  little,  understanding  and  faith  come  by  hear- 
ing ;  conceptions  of  the  love  of  God,  and  of  the  meaning  and 
worth  of  purity,  dawn  on  the  thick  darkness  of  the  Pariah  mind 
{pomp.  p.  177). 

In  the  children  "  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  "  will  be  distinctly 
seen.  The  more  promising  of  these  are  taken  to  the  Boarding 
School  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Mission,  where  they  live  in 
Indian  fashion  but  in  a  Christian  atmosphere  ;  many  of  them 
become  unmistakably  converted  to  God.  The  girls  learn  needle- 
work, and  Indian  cookery,  and  the  care  of  children  ;  they 
acquire  cleanly  and  moral  habits,  which  will  persist  to  a  large 
extent  on  their  return  home.  When  they  marry,  their  homes — 
squalid  as  they  might  seem  to  an  English  eye — will  be  far  sweeter 
and  healthier  than  anything  their  parents  knew.  Where  the 
elders  blindly  stumbled  in  "  the  Way,"  their  children  walk 
oftentimes  steadily.  Low  as  they  have  sunk,  the  Indian  Pariahs 
prove  to  be,  neither  intellectually  nor  morally,  an  irreclaimable 
race.  Already  some  of  their  sons  have  risen,  by  the  ladder  of 
the  Christian  school  and  college,  to  places  beside  the  Brahman 
in  the  higher  avocations  of  life.  This  is  His  doing  who  "  raiseth 
up  the  poor  out  of  the  dust,  the  needy  from  the  dunghill,  to 
make  them  sit  with  princes  !  "  The  only  limit  to  the  work  of 
reclamation  in  certain  districts  is  that  imposed  by  the  paucity 
of  trained  agents,  and  the  scantiness  of  mission-funds. 

The  resurrection  of  the  Pariah  is  producing  a  profound  im- 
pression on  the  mind  of  India.  Hinduism  itself  pays  a  tribute 
to  Christianity  on  this  score.  An  Indian  gentleman,  writing 
some  time  ago  to  the  Hindu  newspaper,  declared  that  "  all 
educated  men  who  have  given  the  slightest  attention  to  the 
condition  of  the  masses,  ought  to  welcome  the  endeavours  of  the 
missionaries  to  convert  the  lower  classes  of  the  people  to  Christi- 
anity "  ;  another  writes,  "  The  salvation  of  the  poor  people 
of  India  lies  in  their  conversion  to  Christianity."  That  such 
Hindus  as  these,  though  deeming  Christianity  needless  for 
themselves,  have  unconsciously  drunk  of  its  spirit,  is  manifest. 

Christianity  has  so  far  wrought  chiefly  upon  the  highest  and 
lowest  strata  of  Indian  society — upon  the  intellectual  Brahmans 
eager  for  Western  learning,  and  upon  the  degraded  Pariahs  whose 
misery  welcomes  the  Gospel.  The  great  middle-classes  of  the 
country  remain  as  yet  comparatively  unaffected. 


192  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Indian  Statistics  of  the  W.M.M.S.  for  1912  : 


Member- 

Mission- 

Indian 

District. 

ship. 

Adherents. 

aries. 

Ministers. 

Madras     - 

2,360 

8,183 

19 

15 

Negapatam           and 

Trichinopoly 

728 

2,071 

13 

8 

Haidarabad 

3.080 

14,682 

15 

6 

Mysore     -         -         - 

2,249 

3.664 

23 

15 

Bengal 

1,362 

3.030 

12 

6 

Lucknow  and  Benares 

466 

2,122 

9 

5 

Bombay  and  Punjab 

740 

4.439 

6 

I 

Burma      .         -         - 

508 

701 

1 1 

11.493 

38,892 

108 

56 

CEYLON 

Ceylon  now  follows  India  in  the  order  of  our  history  [comp. 
Chapter  IX.),  not  because  the  missionary  work  of  the  island  has 
faUen  into  the  rear,  but  because  that  of  the  continent,  with  its 
immense  area  and  population,  has  so  greatly  expanded. 

In  South  Ceylon  the  active  conflict  with  Buddhism,  of  which 
Daniel  J.  Gogerly  had  been  the  protagonist  {see  p.  114),  continued 
during  the  'sixties  and  'seventies  in  the  shape  of  pubUc  debates 
between  the  advocates  of  the  rival  religions,  such  as  never  take 
place  to-day.  These  combats  served  a  useful  purpose  by  com- 
pelUng  the  compromising  Sinhalese  to  decision.  Deep  impres- 
sions were  made  when  missionaries,  and  sometimes  native 
Christians,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  with  impunity  defied 
the  devil-priests  to  bewitch  them ;  by  such  demonstrations 
sorcery  was  widely  discredited. 

During  the  middle  period  of  the  S.  Ceylon  Mission,  the  de- 
velopment of  the  Sinhalese  ministry  was  pushed  forward, 
although  at  that  time  little  provision  could  be  made  for  its  testing 
and  training,  the  European  staff  being  severely  cut  down.  Dis- 
cipline suffered  in  consequence.  Hence  when  Robert  Spence 
Hardy  assumed  the  Chairmanship  in  1862  {see  p.  115),  he  found 
himself  obliged  to  reduce  the  reported  Church-membership  by  a 
third— a  pruning  followed  by  the  notable  revival  of  1865-6. 
Not  till  1 871  was  regular  provision  made,  at  Richmond  Hill, 
Galle  {see  p.  114),  for  the  training  of  the  Sinhalese  pastorate. 
Up  to  that  time  young  men  designated  for  the  ministry  depended 
for  instruction   upon  the  individual   and   occasional  efforts   of 


ADVANCE  IN  THE  INDIAN  EMPIRE  193 

preoccupied  missionaries.  Notwithstanding,  many  of  the  earUer 
home-born  ministry  showed  themselves  men  of  gifts  and 
power. 

Even  after  the  revival  to  which  we  have  referred,  it  has  been 
complained  that  the  Methodism  of  S.  Ceylon  did  not  grow  in 
missionary  zeal  with  its  growth  in  numbers  and  education. 
Recently  a  more  aggressive  spirit  has  been  awakened  ;  the 
Sinhalese  Church  has  undertaken,  with  hopeful  energy,  to 
evangelize  the  neglected  North-western  Province. 

Colombo  contains  many  thousands  of  Tamils,  who  supply 
largely  its  working-class  population.  For  these  a  missioner  was 
requested  from  North  Ceylon  in  1871  ;  and  John  Wesley  Phillips 
(1865-84),  son  of  the  first  Tamil-speaking  Ceylon  minister  [see 
p.  117),  was  so  appointed.  Two  Tamil  Circuits  have  been  formed 
in  and  about  Colombo — one,  which  is  now  self-supporting,  con- 
taining chiefly  immigrants  from  Jaffna  ;  the  other,  being  con- 
cerned with  Tamil  people  from  the  mainland  little  touched  by 
Christianity,  is  at  the  purely  missionary  stage. 

The  attention  of  our  missionaries  was  recalled  to  Kandy  [see 
p.  115)  during  the  'sixties.  Cojffee-planting  was  rapidly  extending 
on  the  hills  in  the  neighbourhood  ;  tradespeople  and  mechanics 
moved  thither  from  the  coast-towns.  About  1865  a  certain  Mr. 
Eaton,  a  notable  Advocate  resident  in  Kandy,  began  to  preach 
and  to  start  Class-meetings  for  the  English-speaking  folk.  He 
discovered  a  number  of  Methodists  amongst  the  native  immi- 
grants, and  appealed  to  Colombo  for  a  minister.  Accordingly, 
George  Baugh  (later  of  Calcutta)  was  sent  early  in  1867,  and  took 
up  the  work  lying  ready  to  hand,  A  native  colleague  was  soon 
required  for  the  Sinhalese  Church,  formed  mainly  of  Methodists 
from  the  coast.  Burdened  with  pastoral  cares,  these  missionaries 
could  do  little  to  evangelize  the  new  country.  Soon  came  the 
coffee-blight,  which  ended  the  prosperity  of  the  district — only 
partially  restored  by  the  later  introduction  of  tea-planting. 
Kandy  has  not  proved  for  us  a  fruitful  missionary  centre  ;  its 
Church  has  needed  much  nursing  ;  the  Schools  are,  however, 
remarkably  good,  and  better  things  may  be  expected. 

In  1885  advance  was  made  from  Kandy  to  Uva,  the  country 
between  the  inland  capital  and  the  eastern  coast.  This  also  was 
a  district  of  coffee-plantations,  succeeded  on  their  failure  by  tea. 
The  people  were  Sinhalese  and  nominally  Buddhist,  but  in  a 
woefully  benighted  and  semi-barbarous  condition.  Samuel 
Langdon,  the  conductor  of  this  Mission  (1873-96),  applied  himself 
unsparingly  and  successfully  to  the  uplifting  of  the  Uvas.  The 
admirable  Girls'  School  at  BaduUa  has  been  already  noticed  (p.  1 77). 

N 


194  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

A  similar  attempt  for  Uva  boys  was  merged  later  in  the  Welle- 
watte  Industrial  School,  near  Colombo.  Medical  and  Bible- 
women's  work  are  carried  on  here  under  exceptional  dif&culties  ; 
for  the  villages  lie  far  apart,  connected  only  by  jungle  and  forest- 
tracks. 

A  special  hindrance  to  missionary  work  throughout  the  centre 
of  Ceylon  lies  in  the  monopoly  of  the  best  land  by  the  Buddhist 
temples,  enabling  the  priests,  who  are  the  landlords,  in  many 
localities  to  starve  out  Christian  converts.  The  visible  improve- 
ment in  the  whole  condition  of  the  people — physical,  mental,  and 
moral — within  the  sphere  of  Christian  Missions,  affords  evidence, 
notwithstanding,  of  their  genuine  success. 

For  twenty  years  (i 885-1 905)  the  Methodism  of  South  Ceylon 
was  divided,  because  of  the  difficulties  of  travelling  and  with  a 
view  to  stimulating  local  activity,  into  three  Districts  centring  at 
Colombo,  Kandy,  and  Galle.  Railway  communication  has  super- 
seded this  partition,  and  the  divisions  have  been  merged  once 
more  in  the  "  South  Ceylon  District,"  to  the  quickening  of  their 
common  life. 

In  the  North  Ceylon  (Tamil)  District  the  years  1860-75),  under 
the  Chairmanship  of  John  Kilner  {see  pp.  ^1  and  117),  were  a  time  of 
rapid  and  sound  progress.  The  Church-membership  was  doubled 
in  these  sixteen  years  ;  the  native  ministry  grew  from  two  to  ten  ; 
financial  contributions  increased  seven-fold.  The  results  of  a 
generation  of  Christian  teaching  were  turned  to  account  by  a 
plan  of  aggressive  evangelism,  which  was  carried  out  through 
native  activity  on  a  scale  previously  unattempted.  Plant  for 
native  agency  to  the  value  of  ;£3,ooo  (two-thirds  of  the  amount 
being  raised  locally)  was  setup,  and  paid  for,  in  1872-5, — a  fruit- 
ful Church-investment.  These  developments  of  the  Mission  were 
accompanied  by  a  "  revolution  in  public  sentiment  as  to  the 
purity  of  the  motives  and  the  validity  of  the  claims  of  Christian 
philanthropy." 

Jaffna  was  the  scene  of  a  marvellous  revival  in  1887,  when 
Anglicans  and  Salvationists  bore  a  part  in  quickening  Methodist 
zeal.  One  slumbering  Tamil  Christian  was  so  awakened,  that 
he  roused  his  whole  village  to  religious  concern.  Enlisted  for 
service  in  the  most  difficult  sphere  of  the  Mission,  at  the  centre  of 
intellectual  Sivaism,  this  man  utterly  spent  himself  in  labour; 
he  died  within  a  few  years,  not  without  winning  many  souls  for 
Christ,  and  leaving  a  memorable  testimony.  "  The  gracious  work 
spread  to  every  corner  of  the  District." 

Our  Tamil  work  in  Ceylon  has  matured  beyond  that  of  India. 
Confined  to  a  narrower  area,  it  has  been  more  intensive  in  method. 


ADVANCE  IN  THE  INDIAN  EMPIRE  195 

Moreover,  the  Hindu  caste-system,  while  still  powerful,  presents  a 
less  fierce  resistance  than  it  does  on  the  mainland  ;  it  is  rare  for  a 
convert  to  be  ostracized  in  North  Ceylon  because  of  his  religion. 
The  Christians  are  mostly  descendants  of  respectable  caste  fam- 
ilies ;  the  work  of  the  School  and  Church  is  built  on  a  found- 
ation of  good  breeding  in  the  native  stock.  The  constant  stream 
of  southward  emigration  from  this  end  of  the  island  carries 
with  it  much  of  the  fruit  of  the  Mission  to  enrich  other  fields. 

There  is  no  element  of  population  amongst  the  Ceylon  Tamils 
resembling  the  Pariah-folk  of  South  India.  The  jungle-country 
round  Batticaloa  is  haunted,  however,  by  the  aboriginal  Veddahs, 
for  whose  evangelization  special  measures  are  required.  After 
the  lapse  of  nearly  half  a  century,  work  amongst  these  wild  people 
was  resumed  in  1893.  Land  has  been  secured,  on  which  two 
small  Veddah  settlements  have  been  formed,  with  the  hope  that 
these  may  become  centres  for  the  reclamation  of  the  race. 

This  District,  with  its  large  and  self-supporting  Churches  at 
Jaffna,  Batticaloa,  and  Point  Pedro,  "  its  vigorous  outlying  work, 
its  reliable  laymen  and  strong,  good  native  ministry,"  provides  a 
powerful  instrument  for  the  conversion  of  the  masses  of  Tamil 
Hinduism.  As  in  the  South,  so  in  North  Ceylon,  the  coming  of 
the  Missionary  Centenary  appears  to  be  prompting  our  people 
to  a  more  serious  consecration,  and  a  deeper  sense  of  responsibility 
toward  their  unconverted  fellow-countrymen. 

Both  in  India  and  Ceylon,  mission-work  becomes  increasingly 
specialised  as  it  addresses  itself  more  and  more  to  the  whole 
condition  of  the  people.  Colleges  (two  of  them  of  the  highest 
grade)  and  Training  Institutions  are  established  at  Colombo, 
Galle,  Kandy,  JafEna,  and  Batticaloa ;  Industrial  Schools,  at 
three  centres  ;  at  Puttur,  on  the  Jaffna  peninsula,  there  is  a 
small  Training  Institute  for  Biblewomen  and  Deaconesses,  under 
the  direction  of  two  ladies  supplied  by  the  Deaconess  Order  in 
England.  A  Mission  Press  is  at  work  at  Batticaloa  ;  another  is 
associated  with  the  Book  Room  in  Colombo.  Medical  work  is 
carried  on  at  four  stations.  The  Colleges  are  the  crown  of  a  graded 
system  of  Schools  for  boys  and  girls,  which  pervades  the  Mission 
and  is  everywhere  its  best  auxiliary. 

Throughout  the  island  there  has  spread  a  concerted  movement 
in  defence  of  the  old  religions.  Buddhism  and  Hinduism,  which 
is  at  once  a  menace  to  Christianity  and  a  tribute  to  its  popular 
influence  (com_^.  p.  171).  This  revival  is  associated,  to  a  large  extent, 
with  the  spirit  of  nationalism  abroad  in  the  air  ;  Christianity  is 
denounced  as  a  foreign  and  alien  creed.  The  Christian  mission- 
ary is  no  longer  met  by  apathetic  indifference  ;  his  movements  are 


196  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

vigilantly  watched,  and  his  methods  slavishly  imitated.  Opposi- 
tion to  the  Christian  propaganda  is  organized  and  captained  by 
American  or  European  Anti-Christians.  "  Every  foot  of  new  terri- 
tory has  now  to  be  won  by  much  sacrifice  and  toil  and  prayer." 

Colombo,  the  political  centre  of  the  island,  and  for  sea-voyagers 
"  the  Clapham  Junction  of  the  East,"  is  the  strategic  point  of 
this  new  war.  The  Colombo  staff  of  the  W.M.M.S.  has  been 
occupied  with  pastoral,  educational,  and  administrative  cares 
precluding  the  evangelization  of  the  cosmopolitan  city  populace, 
which  should  rather  be  its  first  business.  This  is  an  imperial, 
and  not  a  mere  insular  question.  A  critical  venture  is  now 
being  made  (191 2)  by  the  opening  of  a  Central  Mission  in  Colombo, 
with  an  experienced  missionary  at  its  head,  which  will  seek  to 
concentrate  the  evangelistic  forces  of  all  our  Churches  in  its 
appeal,  by  preaching  and  works  of  mercy,  to  the  non-Christian 
multitudes  of  the  city. 

The  South  Ceylon  District  reports  in  191 2  seven  self-sustaining 
Circuits,  with  a  total  Church-membership  exceeding  2,000  ; 
nine  "  aided  "  Circuits,  having  a  membership  of  1,100  ;  and 
nineteen  mission  Circuits,  with  an  aggregate  membership  of 
about  the  same  number.  The  baptized  adherents  may  be 
counted  at  about  three  times  the  numbers  above  given.  Sixteen 
English  missionaries  (ministers  or  laymen)  are  at  work,  along 
with  thirty-four  Ceylonese  colleagues,  and  fifteen  agents  of  the 
Women's  Auxihary.  This  staff  is  supplemented  by  an  army  of 
native  workers  of  various  orders,  paid  and  unpaid. 

The  Northern  District  counts  about  1,800  Church-members. 
Its  European  missionaries  number  10  ;  its  Tamil  ministers, 
19  ;  its  English  women-workers,  10.  The  lay  native  helpers — 
catechists,  school-masters,  Bible-women,  etc., — of  this  District 
rank  high  in  intelligence  and  activity. 

Enough  has  been  effected  in  this  favoured  and  prosperous 
island,  by  our  own  and  other  Evangelical  Churches,  to  supply  a 
vantage-ground  for  the  winning  of  Ceylon  to  Christ.  The  work 
done  is  sufficient  to  encourage  and  compel  the  Church  to  more. 


CHAPTER  XV 

Toward  the  Heart  of  Africa 

West  Africa 

Chapter  VI.   traced  the   course  of  Methodist  work  along  the 
coast  of  Western  Africa  through  its  first  half-century — a  track 


TOWARD  THE  HEART  OF  AFRICA  197 

marked  by  missionary  graves.  The  later  decades  have  wit- 
nessed manifold  developments  and  extensions  upon  this  great 
field,  indicated  by  a  growth  in  recognised  Church-membership 
from  less  than  10,000  reported  in  1857  to  over  27,000  in  the  year 
1912. 

During  this  period  the  population  of  the  Sierra  Leone  District 
{see  p.  66),  has  greatly  changed  in  character.  The  descendants  of 
the  liberated  slaves,  with  their  "  pidgin  EngUsh  "  and  their  more  or 
less  binding  attachment  to  Christianity,  are  increasingly  out- 
numbered by  heathen  and  Muhammadan  immigrants,  most  of 
whom  retain  their  vernacular  speech.  New  missionary  work  is 
thus  brought  to  the  door  of  the  old  mission-stations, — work 
uncongenial  to  the  settled  Christian  communities.  Yet  only 
vigorous  aggression  will  save  the  Church  from  being  swamped 
by  the  incoming  tide. 

On  theGambia,  at  Bathurst  and  Macarthy's  Island  {see  pp.  69-71), 
which  have  been  re-attached  to  the  Sierra  Leone  District,  the 
Society  has  shepherded  the  little  flock  descended  from  the  freed- 
men  planted  here  early  in  last  century.  The  unhealthy  cUmate 
which  has  made  European  residence  so  precarious,  the  pohtical 
obstructions  in  our  way  {see  p.  72),  and  our  scanty  resources, 
have  impeded  the  invasion,  long  due,  of  the  Muhammadan  popu- 
lation along  the  river-banks.  Ours  is  the  only  Protestant  mission 
at  work  about  Bathurst,  and  this  piece  of  evangelism  falls  to  us. 

The  Missionary  Society  in  West  Africa  increasingly  aims  at 
shaping  the  existing  West  African  Methodism  into  a  missionary 
instrument.  An  important  step  was  taken  toward  this  end 
when,  under  the  energetic  chairmanship  of  Benjamin  Tregaskis 
(West  Indies,  1836-63  ;  Sierra  Leone,  1864-73),  a  High  School  for 
boys  was  planted  in  Freetown  (1873).  Its  first  Principal  was 
Joseph  Claudius  May,  F.R.G.S,, — son  of  Joseph  May,  ex-slave  and 
missionary — who  served  in  this  post  very  efficiently,  until  his 
death  in  1902.  The  coloured  Christian  ministry,  the  professions 
and  Government  service  of  the  Colony,  were  recruited  from  this 
school.  Girls'-school  work  lagged  behind  that  done  for  boys  ; 
the  family  life  and  social  influence  of  educated  Africans  were 
liable  to  be  spoilt  through  this  ignorance  of  their  wives.  Mrs. 
Godman — wife  of  Matthew  Godman  (Gambia,  1843-46  ;  South 
Africa,  1847-76;  General  Superintendent,  Sierra  Leone,  1877-82) 
— started  a  "  Wesleyan  Female  I  istitution,"  which  after  some 
vicissitudes  was  merged  in  the  Girls'  High  School,  now  con- 
ducted by  Wesley  Deaconesses  {see  p.  178).  A  third  line  of 
educational  service,  full  of  promise,  was  developed  in  1901,  when 
William  Thomas  Balmer,  B.A.,  was  sent  out  to  establish  in  Sierra 


igS  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Leone,  under  the  name  of  "  Richmond  College,"  a  permanent 
Training  Institution  for  Native  Agents.*  At  Bathurst,  beside 
the  Boys'  High  School  with  its  native  head-master,  there  is  an 
Industrial  Institution,  where  negro  lads  are  turned  into  intelligent 
and  competent  Christian  artisans.  In  such  institutions,  sur- 
rounded by  a  hearty  and  disciplined  Church-life,  lies  a  chief 
hope  for  the  future  of  West  Africa.  The  Negro  Church  of  this 
District,  enabled  to  "  add  to  her  faith  virtue,  and  to  virtue 
knowledge,  and  to  knowledge  self-control,"  will  send  out  saving 
influences  as  various  as  are  the  elements  of  her  constituency. 

Since  Matthew  Godman's  appointment,  in  1877,  the  Sierra 
Leone  District  has  considerably  enlarged  its  territory.  In  1879 
Sherbro  was  occupied,  an  island  of  the  Protectorate  in  which  a 
powerful  and  insidious  Paganism  was  entrenched.  From  Sherbro 
the  Gospel  spread  to  the  mainland.  At  a  church-opening  in  the 
new  country  in  1898,  a  mob  of  armed  heathen  fell  on  the  congrega- 
tion, killing  a  number  of  the  people  in  their  flight.  This  murderous 
attack  arrested  the  mission  for  a  time.  But  in  the  following 
year  an  invitation  came  from  the  neighbouring  king  of  Banda- 
juma  in  Mendiland,  distant  a  week's  journey  south-eastwards 
from  Freetown,  which  was  gladly  accepted,  and  this  town  soon 
became  the  centre  of  a  vigorous  evangelism.  When  a  few  years 
later  a  new  king  came  to  the  throne,  the  Methodist  Church 
supplied  the  place  of  coronation  and  the  officiating  minister. 

The  Limbah  country,  in  the  north  of  the  Protectorate,  was 
opened  to  us  in  1880  ;  the  Mission  soon  extended  to  the  Great 
Scarcies  River  on  the  north-western  boundary.  The  advance  of 
the  work  in  this  quarter  is  limited  by  the  lack  of  agents.  The 
Sierra  Leone  workers  have  been  slow  to  acquire  a  strange  tongue, 
and  to  enter  what  is  to  them,  as  really  as  to  the  EngUshman,  a 
foreign  field,  imposing  e^cile,  privation,  and  peril.  Richmond 
College  {see  above)  may  be  counted  on  to  supply  this  deficiency  ; 
its  students  work  at  the  vernaculars  for  missionary  use. 

Over  large  parts  of  the  Sierra  Leone  District,  including 
Bathurst,  the  coloured  Churches  are  quite  self-supporting,  and 
contribute  generously  for  missionary  purposes.  Improved  health 
in  the  mission-staff  {see  p.  65)  has  made  continuity  of  policy 
attainable.  Since  1859,  when  an  epidemic  of  yellow  fever  carried 
off  four  members  of  our  English  Mission  at  Sierra  Leone,  no  fatal 
casualty  occurred  here  until  1907.  Benjamin  Tregaskis  and 
Matthew   Godman   were  followed,  for  a  term  of  Chairmanship 

*  Richmond  College  was  removed  in  1909  to  the  Gold  Coast,  where 
it  was  attached  to  the  old  Mfantsipim  Boys'  School,  reorganized  by 
Mr.  Balmer.     The  College  is  affiliated  to  London  University, 


TOWARD  THE  HEART  OF  AFRICA  199 

covering,  with  intervals,  more  than  twenty  years,  by  the  able 

and   modest  Wilham   H.  Maude,  whose  work  in   Sierra   Leone 

commenced  as  far  back  as  1867. 

^  ^  ^  *  * 

On  the  Gold  Coast  and  eastwards,  the  Gospel  has  had  free 
course  in  the  last  half- century.  But  for  the  decimation  in  mis- 
sionary ranks  of  former  years,  its  progress  on  these  fields  might 
well  have  been  as  marvellous  as  in  Fiji. 

A  strong  distinction  exists  between  the  work  of  the  mission 
on  the  coast  and  that  of  the  up-country  stations  ;  the  shore- 
natives  are  affected  by  European  ideas  and  manners,  both  for 
good  and  evil ;  inland,  primitive  heathenism  prevails.  Language, 
however,  is  here  no  such  bar  to  communication  as  it  is  around 
Sierra  Leone  {see  p.  69),  for  the  coast-people  share  the  vernaculars 
of  their  adjacent  hinterland  kinsfolk. 

Progress  has  been  hindered  on  the  Gold  Coast  District,  even 
more  than  in  Sierra  Leone,  by  the  lack  of  female  education. 
Says  Dennis  Kemp,  in  his  interesting  Nine  Years  at  the  Gold 
Coast :  "  The  most  important  work  at  the  Gold  Coast  is  (European) 
women's  work  amongst  (native)  women."  Good  teaching 
for  women  will  supply  the  surest  means,  both  of  uprooting 
heathenism  in  Africa  and  of  counterworking  Muhammadanism. 
Fortunately  for  the  people,  the  Lutheran  (Basle)  missionaries, 
and  the  Roman  CathoHc  nuns,  have  been  alert  and  busy  where 
Methodist  teachers  were  wanting.  We  have  now,  however,  a 
couple  of  flourishing  girls'  schools,  staffed  by  Wesley  Deaconesses, 
at  Cape  Coast  Castle  and  Accra  respectively. 

Notwithstanding  its  disadvantages,  this  District  has  reported 
an  increase  of  Church-membership  in  every  year  since  its  incep- 
tion. A  memorable  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  gladdened  the 
workers  on  the  coast-towns  after  the  close  of  the  Ashanti  War 
of  1874.  Three  thousand  members  were  added  in  1877  to  the 
Church,  half  of  whom  were  baptized  by  the  venerable  Father 
Freeman  {see  pp.  73-78),  who,  in  this  great  awakening,  was  seen 
passing  from  village  to  village,  gathering  the  Leaders  together 
for  counsel,  teaching  the  new  converts  "  the  right  ways  of  the 
Lord  "  and  guiding  the  movement  into  safe  channels. 

Behind  the  Gold  Coast,  in  Ashanti — that  land  of  cruelty  and 
bloodshed — Methodism  had  a  chequered  history  {comp.  pp.  73-75)- 
Time  after  time  sickness  and  death,  or  outbursts  of  savage 
treachery,  have  struck  down  or  driven  out  the  missionary,  and 
his  work  has  fallen  to  seeming  ruin.  But  under  the  wreck  some 
seed  of  life  still  vegetated.  Fifteen  years  ago  our  membership 
was  reduced  to  ten ;  to-day  it  numbers  a  thousand.     With  the 


200  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

better  conditions  of  health  and  civil  order  now  assured,  the 
Ashantis  may  be  made  good  soldiers  of  Christ  Jesus.  North  of 
Ashanti,  and  beyond  the  forest  belt  in  which  Kumassi  lies,  the 
way  appears  open  for  the  advance  of  the  Gospel.  Out  of  the 
"  Gold  Mines  Mission,"  nearer  to  the  coast,  a  Circuit  has  grown 
up  90  miles  in  length,  with  23  preaching-places,  and  a  Church- 
membership  exceeding  1,200. 

An  effective  native  pastorate  has  been  raised  up  in  the  Gold 
Coast  Mission  ;  the  Training  Institution,  now  provided  (p.  198),  will 
further  the  development  of  the  indigenous  ministry.  Duties  of 
general  oversight,  education,  and  frontier- work  occupy  the  limited 
English  staff,  consisting  of  eight  men. 

The  liberality  of  the  Gold  Coast  Methodists  is  proverbial. 
This  Missionary  District  shares  with  Barbados  in  the  West  Indies 
the  distinction  of  contributing  to  the  Missionary  Society  greatly 
more  than  it  receives.  It  was  the  first  District  in  Methodism 
to  report  its  quota  of  the  Centenary  Fund  as  already  lodged  in 
the  Bank. 

*  *  ♦  *  * 

We  have  seen  how  that  restless  evangelist,  Thomas  Freeman, 
carried  the  Gospel,  during  the  early  'forties,  far  east  to  Badagry 
(the  nest  of  a  foul  slavery)  and  Abeokuta  (p.  76),  situated  in 
what  is  now  known  as  the  Lagos  District.  In  the  next  decade 
the  slave-trade  was  suppressed,  and  in  1861  Lagos  was  ceded  to 
the  British  Crown.  Already  in  1854  Ebenezer  A.  Gardiner  had 
been  stationed  at  Lagos,  its  first  European  missionary.  This 
town  has  steadily  grown  in  size  and  importance,  and  is  the  seat 
of  British  administration. 

Meanwhile  inland  Abeokuta,  the  capital  of  the  Egbas,  built  by 
the  worthy  King  Shodeke  {see  p.  76),  had  suffered  lamentable 
neglect ;  many  of  its  converts  relapsed  into  polygamy  and 
heathen  habits.  Not  until  1861  could  a  permanent  European 
appointment  be  made.  Thomas  Champness  was  sent  hither, 
after  three  years'  apprenticeship  at  Sierra  Leone.  This  noble 
man  "  soon  became  an  expert  in  the  use  of  the  Negro-English 
idiom  "  and  "  acquired  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  native  tongue  ;  " 
his  brief  ministry  in  Abeokuta  has  left  abiding  fruit.  In  1867 
a  hostile  outbreak  drove  his  successor  from  the  town.  The 
Mission-house  was  saved  by  the  courage  of  a  native  woman. 
Seven  years  later  the  work  was  resumed. 

From  Lagos  our  Mission  has  spread  further  into  the  interior 
than  elsewhere  in  West  Africa.  John  Milum  (i  871-81) — a  man 
"  distinguished  by  great  sagacity,  pluck,  and  godly  zeal,"  the 
friend  and  vindicator  of  Thomas  Freeman — made  his  way  up 


I 


TOWARD  THE  HEART  OF  AFRICA  201 

the  River  Niger,  and  planted  a  native  minister  in  the  Nupe 
country,  far  to  the  north-east  of  Lagos.  John  T.  F.  Halhgey, 
who  has  laboured  for  many  years  in  Western  Africa  "  amid 
deaths  oft,"  succeeded  to  Milum's  Chairmanship  in  1887,  just  as 
the  obstacles  to  entering  the  Yoruba  hinterland  (stretching  due 
north  of  Lagos)  were  removed.  Distant  Nup6  was  then  abdi- 
cated in  favour  of  the  C.M.S.,*  which  had  made  the  Niger  riverain 
its  sphere,  so  that  the  Wesleyan  forces  might  be  concentrated  on 
the  wide  and  needy  field  now  inviting  them.  Mr.  Halligey  led 
a  successful  expedition  as  far  north  as  Ogbomosho,  and  planted 
agents  at  strategic  points  along  the  route. 

Yoruba  is  a  land  of  forest  cities.  The  largest  of  these,  Ibadan, 
situated  100  miles  north-west  of  Lagos,  is  computed  to  contain 
a  quarter  of  a  million  people.  Here  the  headquarters  of  the 
District  are  now  fixed  ;  a  Training  College  has  been  planted, 
under  an  English  Principal,  while  a  couple  of  native  pastors 
have  charge  of  an  extensive  Circuit.  Our  one  West  African 
medical  missionary,  Dr.  J.  R.  C.  Stephens,!  is  practising  at 
Igbora,  an  up-country  village  centre  in  this  District,  where  a 
successful  dispensary  has  been  carried  on  since  1908. 

Altogether,  "  seven  missionaries,  five  African  Ministers,  and 
nearly  forty  Catechists  are  working  in  the  interior.  In  Lagos 
itself  we  have  two  self-supporting  Circuits,  with  fourteen  churches, 
eight  other  preaching-places,  and  six  African  Ministers,  besides 
several  Catechists.  and  sixty-eight  Local  Preachers."  There  are, 
moreover.  High  Schools  for  Boys  and  Girls  at  Lagos, — the  latter 
staffed  by  Wesley  Deaconesses. 

The  French  territory  of  Dahomey  and  German  Togoland 
(formerly  Popo  :  see  p.  77)  separate  the  Gold  Coast  from  Lagos. 
Since  Freeman's  day  we  have  kept  a  precarious  footing  in  each 
of  these  foreign  Colonies.  Their  Governments  look  askance  upon 
British  agents  ;  they  insist  on  the  use  of  the  official  language  in 
the  schools — an  embarrassing  condition  for  our  work. 

The  Church-membership  of  the  Lagos  District  has  reached 
5,000,  and  progress  goes  on  at  an  accelerated  pace.  Much  is  due 
to  the  leadership  of  J.  Dawson  Sutclifie  (i 886-1 904)  and  of 
Oliver  J.  Griffin,  the  successive  Chairmen  of  the  last  twenty  years. 
When  Christianized,  this  country  will  furnish  a  basis  for  the 
evangelisation  of  interior  Africa  across  the  Niger. 

*  The  friendly  co-operation  between  the  C.M.S.  and  the  W.M.M.S., 
which  marked  the  beginning  of  West  African  Missions  (see  pp.  ^j,  76),  has 
been  happily  continued. 

f  Dr.  Stephens,  who  began  his  work  in  191 2,  is  supported  by  the 
"Wesley  Guild.     A  second  medical  missionary  is  going  to  this  District. 


202  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Every  advance  made  amongst  the  negro  peoples  of  Western 
Africa  brings  the  Church  into  closer  conflict  with  Islam,  the 
Antichrist  of  this  continent,  by  whose  aggression  the  ancient 
flourishing  Christianity  of  Northern  Africa  was  destroyed.  In 
the  last  century  a  powerful  revival  of  Muslim  fanaticism  has 
taken  place  in  north-central  Africa  ;  thence  the  emissaries  of 
the  Prophet  are  pressing  south  and  westwards.  Every  Hansa 
trader  is  a  missionary  of  his  faith.  The  disarming  of  the  warhke 
heathen  tribes  inhabiting  the  mountain  ranges  of  the  north- 
central  interior  has  opened  gates  formerly  closed  to  these 
invaders. 

Islam  has  much  to  offer  to  the  untutored  pagan.  Admittedly, 
it  effects  a  partial  elevation  of  the  fetish-worshipping  negro  ; 
there  its  redeeming  influence  stops.  Muhammadanism  "is  a 
religion  without  the  Divine  Fatherhood,  without  compassion  for 
those  outside  its  pale  ;  and  to  the  womanhood  of  Africa  it  is  a 
religion  of  despair  and  doom."  Muhammad  is  no  "  schoolmaster 
to  lead  to  Christ  "  ;  but  a  rival  who  bars  His  way.  Paganism 
cannot  live  in  the  new  light ;  but  where  Islam  steps  in  first  by 
ever  so  little,  Christianity  is  shut  out  for  generations.  The 
menace  of  a  continent's  perversion  to  Islam  lowers  on  the 
horizon.  For  the  honour  of  Christ,  for  the  love  of  souls,  for  the 
sanctity  of  womanhood,  for  the  peace  and  safety  of  Europe,  the 
march  of  Muhammad  must  be  challenged.  A  new  and  holier 
Crusade  is  called  for,  in  which  the  spiritual  weapons  of  God's 
kingdom  shall  be  plied  upon  an  adequate  scale,  and  with  the 
skill  and  heroism  worthy  of  the  trained  soldiers  of  Christ.  Never 
has  a  more  challenging  summons  reached  the  ears  of  Christendom, 
than  that  which  is  now  sounding  from  the  heart  of  Africa. 

South  Africa 

South  Africa,  with  its  swarming  native  peoples  and  thriving 
European  colonies,  is  concerned  in  the  struggle  with  Muhammad- 
anism more  remotely,  but  not  less  vitally,  than  the  rest  of  the 
continent.  We  left  this  field,  in  closing  Chapter  VII.,  at  the 
point  where  William  Shaw's  work  in  Africa  was  finished  (1856), 
and  when,  after  a  period  of  discouragement  following  the  Kafir 
wars  and  aggravated  by  diminished  support  from  home,  the 
missionaries  again  took  heart  and  resumed  their  advance  along 
the  original  lines. 

Radiating  from  the  Cape  Colony,  the  Mission  had  spread  in 
three  directions — along  the  western  and  eastern  coasts,  and 
northwards  across  the  Orange  River,  i.e.,  into  Namaqualand, 
Kaffraria,  and  Bechuanaland.     The  westward  march  had  reached 


TOWARD  THE  HEART  OF  AFRICA  203 

its  terminus  {see  p.  83)  ;  but  eastwards  and  north-eastwards 
a  chain  of  missionary  forts  had  been  carried  through  Kafirland, 
which,  though  repeatedly  broken  by  war,  had  been  as  often  re- 
paired, and  was  now  to  be  broadened  into  a  sohd  occupation. 
The  Bechuanaland  Mission  remained  as  yet  attached  to  the 
Albany  and  Kaffraria  District.  Not  until  the  year  1863  was  this 
huge  area  divided:  into  the  Graham's  Town  District,  which 
covered  the  old  Albany  Colony  {see  p.  86)  ;  the  King-William's 
Town  (later  Queen's  Town)  District,  situated  north  of  the  for- 
mer-part of  this  country  had  been  annexed  by  the  British  for 
colonisation  ;  and  the  Bechuana  District,  stretching  along  and 
beyond  the  Orange  River.  The  last  became  in  1873  the  "  Bloem- 
fontein  District,"  named  after  the  capital  of  the  recently  formed 
(Dutch)  Orange  River  State,  through  whose  territory  our  work 
gradually  spread.  In  1879  the  Clarkebury  District  was  formed 
out  of  Kafir  Circuits  in  the  north-east  of  the  Queenstown  District ; 
to  these  were  added  certain  Native  Circuits  bordering  on  Natal, 
which  for  some  years  had  been  attached  to  the  Natal  District. 
The  Cape  Town  District  remained  geographically  what  it  had 
been  in  Barnabas  Shaw's  time.  South  African  Methodism  thus 
assumed  its  fixed  configuration. 

Through  the  later  'sixties  and  'seventies  peace  generally  pre- 
vailed in  the  Colonies  and  Kafiraria,  and  prosperity  returned ;  "  the 
Churches  had  rest,  and  were  edified  and  multiplied."  Between 
1856  and  1875  the  number  of  Methodist  Church-members  in 
South  Africa  grew  from  8,000  to  14,000  ;  by  the  year  of  inde- 
pendence (1882),  this  figure  approached  20,000. 

Along  with  the  steady  and  general  extension  of  the  Church's 
work,  two  outstanding  features  marked  its  development  at  this 
time.  These  were  (i)  the  thirst  for  knowledge  awakened  in  the 
natives.  Whiteside's  History  defines  1875-1905  as  the  "  Era 
of  Education."  As  superstition  declined  and  the  material  con- 
dition of  the  people  improved,  "  the  importance  of  reading, 
writing,  arithmetic,  and  singing  took  a  firm  hold  of  the  native 
mind."  The  Colonial  Government  encouraged  this  appetite  ; 
and  the  missionaries  did  the  utmost  which  their  scanty  means 
allowed,  to  meet  the  welcome  craving.  Industrial  Schools  had 
been  planted  years  before  at  various  Stations  ;  in  1867  the  Heald- 
town  Training  Institution  for  African  ministers  and  teachers  was 
started,  which  has  for  long  held  a  leading  place  in  the  Colony  ; 
elsewhere  new  institutes  of  the  like  nature  were  now  established. 
Notwithstanding  these  measures,  when  Mr.  Kilner  visited  the 
S.A.  Districts  in  1880-1  {see  p.  206),  he  still  complained  of  their 
backwardness  in  educational  work  ;    later  years  have  witnessed 


204  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

strenuous  efiorts  to  make  good  the  deficiency.     The  Kafir  race 
is  developing  notable  powers  under  Christian  education. 

(2)  This  period  was  also  remarkable  for  religious  revivals  and 
the  deepening  of  spiritual  life  in  S.  A.  Methodism.  Several  mani- 
festations of  the  kind  have  been  previously  noticed  {see  pp.  86,  94) ; 
others  took  place  subsequently,  in  this  locality  or  that.  But 
the  revival  of  1866  spread  through  the  Colonies  and  Kaffraria. 
The  instrument  of  this  awakening  was  William  Taylor  (after- 
wards Bishop  Taylor),*  of  the  M.  E.  Church  in  America,  an 
evangelist  of  the  most  incisive  and  commanding  type.  The 
"  black  years  "  of  1863-5,  marked  by  severe  agricultural  and 
commercial  depression,  had  sobered  men's  minds  and  predisposed 
them  to  religious  conviction.  The  American  missioner's  preach- 
ing gained  momentum  as  he  passed  from  town  to  town,  until 
in  many  places  the  whole  colonial  population  came  under  its 
spell,  and  conversions  were  wrought  by  thousands.  When  he 
found,  in  Charles  Pamla,  the  right  interpreter,  the  like  effects 
were  produced  amongst  educated  natives  (the  evangelist  could 
make  nothing,  it  appeared,  of  the  raw  heathen).  In  quantity 
and  quality  alike,  the  religious  life  of  S.  A.  Methodism  was 
advanced  by  this  blessed  visitation.  Fresh  encouragement  was 
given  to  Kafir  preaching  ;  the  regular  training  of  our  native 
ministry  began  from  this  date. 

*  ■*■  *  *  * 

The  Bechuana-Bloemfontein  District  during  the  years  1857-82 
underwent  a  transformation.  Its  early  prosperity  was  ariested 
in  the  'fifties.  Quarrels  became  chronic  amongst  the  medley 
of  tribes  scattered  over  the  country  north  of  the  Orange  River. 
The  Mission-stations  were  disturbed,  or  even  destroyed,  and 
flourishing  Churches  broken  up  ;  the  defeated  tribes  migrated 
beyond  the  reach  of  their  pastors.  Thaba  'Nchu  {see  p.  93) 
passed  through  severe  vicissitudes.  This  Methodist  settlement  had 
gathered  a  population  of  10,000,  and  was  the  largest  native  town 
in  South  Africa,  when  in  1852  the  feud  between  the  Baralong 
and  Mantatees  led  to  the  removal  of  a  section  of  the  former 
to  a  district  300  miles  to  the  north-west ;  here  for  a  while  they 
received  occasional  pastoral  visits  from  Thaba  'Nchu.  Many 
years  later  this  isolated  community  was  discovered  by  the  mis- 
sionary newl}^  sent  to  Mafeking  {see  p.  208)  ;  under  its  chief 
Molema — Local  Preacher  and  Class-Leader — for  a  generation 
the  clan  had  preserved  amidst  the  heathen  its  Methodist  faith 
and  worship.     Again  and  again  such  dispersals  have  scattered 

*  Bishop  Taylor's  visits  were  attended  with  similar  results  in  Canada, 
the  West  Indies,  and  Australia. 


TOWARD  THE  HEART  OF  AFRICA  205 

the  fire  of  the  Spirit  to  distant  spots,  where  it  kindled  afresh. 
Slowly  Thaba  'Nchu  recovered  from  its  loss,  until  a  new  strife 
in  1882  occasioned  the  annexation  of  the  country  by  the  Orange 
River  State,  when  most  of  the  remaining  Baralong  went  into 
exile.  By  this  time  European  colonists  had  multiplied  in  the 
neighbourhood,  and  its  seclusion  was  gone. 

The  Boer  trekkers  of  1836  {see  p.  84)  made  their  home  chiefly 
in  the  north-western  corner  of  what  is  now  the  Orange  River 
Colony.  As  their  numbers  grew  they  spread  over  the  country, 
displacing  or  subjecting  the  natives.  Their  encroachments  were 
a  chief  cause  of  tribal  unrest ;  the  British  authorities  of  Cape 
Colony,  whose  jurisdiction  in  the  'forties  extended  to  the  Orange 
River,  though  often  appealed  to,  were  loth  to  interpose.  Crime 
and  violence  increased  ;  the  Boers  had  no  regular  Government 
to  be  held  responsible.  Weary  of  the  incessant  disorder,  in  1848 
the  British  Governor  annexed  the  debatable  country,  under 
the  name  of  the  "  Orange  River  Sovereignty."  There  was  now 
a  promise  of  peace.  England  however  was  in  one  of  her  "  cold 
fits  "  toward  the  Colonies,  and  the  Home  Government,  which  had 
already  recognised  the  independence  of  the  Transvaal  Boers, 
set  up  in  1854  the  "  Orange  River  Free  State,"  handing  over 
to  it  the  whole  region  between  the  Vaal  and  Orange  Riveras.  The 
new  State  established  some  kind  of  order  in  the  country.  It  was 
not  unfavourable  to  mission-work,  except  that  it  frowned  upon 
the  education  of  the  natives. 

Meanwhile,  the  Basutos  eastward  of  the  Orange  River  territory, 
under  their  able  chief  Moshesh,  had  become  a  formidable  power. 
Their  final  struggle  with  the  Boers  came  about  in  1866-8,  when 
they  were  completely  beaten  and  threatened  with  extinction. 
The  British  Government  now  intervened  ;  and  a  treaty  was  made, 
by  which  western  Basutoland  was  ceded  to  the  Orange  River 
State  and  the  remainder  became  a  British  Protectorate.  In  the 
course  of  this  war  a  number  of  long-established  and  peaceable 
Methodist  mission-stations  were  irreparably  destroyed. 

The  discovery  in  1870  of  the  diamond-deposits  in  West  Griqua- 
land,  on  the  western  fringe  of  the  Orange  River  State,  brought  a 
new  era  to  central  South  Africa.  A  swarming  population  quickly 
gathered  on  this  desolate  ground  ;  the  town  of  Kimberley  sprang 
up,  attracting  European  adventurers  from  all  quarters,  and  native 
labourers  of  many  different  tribes.  The  vice  and  dissipation 
always  rife  in  such  communities  spread  their  miasma  ;  at  the 
same  time,  a  momentous  opportunity  was  created  for  preaching 
the  Gospel  to  men  of  all  colours  and  in  every  variety  of  need. 

This  event  converted  British  indifference  toward  the  country 


2o6  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

into  an  eager  interest ;  the  greater  part  of  the  diamond-bearing 
area  was  claimed  as  Colonial  territory  ;  and  English  control  was 
established  on  the  western,  as  it  had  been  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  Boer  Republics.  Methodism  soon  found  its  way  to  Kim- 
berley  :  two  English  ministers  were  appointed  in  1872  to  the 
"  Diamond  Fields  "  Circuit,  and  Native  work  was  simultaneously 
commenced.  This  prompt  action  had  its  reward  ;  the  region 
has  proved  a  centre  of  strength  and  wide-reaching  influence  to 
South  African  Methodism  ;  Kimberley  soon  became  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Mission.  James  Scott  (son  of  "  Stockholm 
Scott "  :  see  p.  132),  Chairman  of  the  Bechuana  District  for  many 
years  ;  Joseph  D.  M.  Ludorf,  scholar  and  physician  as  well  as 
missionary  ;  Gottlob  Schreiner,  father  of  a  famous  family  and 
a  man  of  remarkable  courage  and  adventure  ;  Richard  Giddy, 
also  Chairman  in  his  turn  and  Superintendent  of  the  Thaba 
'Nchu  press  ;  Arthur  Brigg — strong,  gentle,  wise,  beloved  of  the 
Bechuanas — were  the  men  who  guided  and  fed  Christ's  sheep, 
and  sought  them  out  in  the  wilderness,  during  the  war-wasted 
years. 

The  question  of  a  central  executive  for  South  African  Methodism 
was  raised  by  Wilham  Shaw  on  his  return  to  England.  In  i860 
he  laid  before  the  Missionary  Committee  a  carefully  devised  plan 
for  this  object.  His  scheme  was  rejected  at  that  time,  since  the 
Colonial  Churches  were  as  yet  far  from  financial  self-support. 
It  was  not  merely  the  complication  of  South  African  questions, 
and  the  difficulty  of  dealing  with  them  from  England,  that  made 
local  government  desirable  ;  but,  still  more,  the  isolation  of  the 
several  Districts  and  Circuits,  spread  over  so  vast  an  area,  im- 
perilled connexional  unity.  The  unification  of  the  Districts,  under 
the  authority  of  a  provincial  Conference,  would  alone  counteract 
this  centrifugal  tendency. 

The  above  considerations  led  the  Missionary  Committee  in 
1873  to  institute  a  triennial "  General  Meeting  "  of  representatives 
from  the  South  African  Districts.  Over  the  second  of  these 
gatherings,  in  1876,  Secretary  Perks  presided  as  deputation  from 
the  Mother  Country.  His  gracious  presence  and  genial  wisdom 
brought  blessing  to  the  assembly,  and  to  the  Churches  he  visited  ; 
but  South  African  journeying  broke  down  Mr.  Perks'  health  ; 
and  his  lamented  death,  taking  place  soon  after  his  return  to 
England,  arrested  further  plans  for  South  African  development. 

The  third  General  Meeting,  held  at  Queenstown  in  June  1880, 
was  epoch-making.  John  Kilner  was  its  Chairman,  representing 
the  Mission  House  ;  he  made  a  thorough  visitation  of  the  field, 
and  brought  all  his  energy,  enthusiasm,  and  experience  to  bear 


TOWARD  THE  HEART  OF  AFRICA  207 

on  its  problems  {comp .  p .  1 1 7) .  Leading  South  African  laymen  were 
summoned  to  this  Meeting,  along  with  the  District  Chairmen  and 
other  foremost  ministers.  The  President  and  the  Assembly  were 
alike  resolved  to  bring  matters  to  a  crisis.  A  draft-plan  for  Home 
Rule  was  adopted,  which  Mr.  Kilner  on  his  return  presented  to 
the  Missionary  Committee.  With  some  important  modifications, 
this  constitution  was  accepted  by  the  British  Conference  of  1882, 
and  took  effect  in  the  next  year,  when  the  first  Wesleyan  Metho- 
dist Conference  was  held  at  Cape  Town.  The  granting  of  self- 
government  led  to  a  rapid  development  of  local  resources  and  of 
connexional  spirit.  The  grants  from  the  Missionary  Committee 
to  the  several  Districts  amounted  in  1882  to  ;^i 4,000  :  it  was 
provided  that  this  sum  should  be  reduced  by  regular  decrements, 
until  in  1902  all  ordinary  remittance  should  cease.  During 
the  thirty  years  that  have  elapsed  since  the  establishment  of 
this  Conference,  its  Church-membership  has  multiplied  from 
20,000  to  126,000*  ;  the  local  Missionary  Fund  has  grown  by  a 
still  larger  ratio. 

Amongst  the  circumstances  favourable  to  the  South  African 
Conference  was  the  acquisition  of  several  men  of  experience  and 
power  lent  by  English  Methodism.  There  was  John  Walton  of 
Ceylon  {see  p.  114),  first  President  of  the  new  Conference,  and  in 
1887  President  in  England  ;  James  Calvert,  the  Fijian  hero, 
who  gave  several  years  to  South  Africa  ;  the  eloquent  Jonathan 
Smith  Spencer,  at  Cape  Town  ;  and  Owen  Watkins,  of  whom 
we  shall  have  to  speak  directly. 

The  Transvaal  and  Rhodesia 

On  the  formation  of  the  South  African  Conference  in  1882,  the 
Transvaal  and  Swaziland  Mission,  then  in  its  infancy,  remained 
under  the  care  of  the  Missionary  Society.  The  growth  of  this 
Mission  has  been  a  swift  rehearsal  and  culmination  of  the  history 
of  Methodism  in  South  Africa.  The  work  accomplished  on  this 
field  is  one  of  the  great  achievements  of  modern  missions,  recalling 
the  early  progress  of  Methodism  in  America. 

David  Magata,  a  wandering  Kaffir  and  escaped  slave  brought 
to  the  knowledge  of  Christ  at  Thaba  'Nchu  {see  p.  204),  was  the 
beginner  of  Transvaal  Methodism.  Hearing  of  fellow-country- 
men without  the  Gospel  in  Potchefstroom,  David  sought  them 
out  ;  he  told  them  his  story  and  gave  them  his  message,  and  a 
blessing  was  upon  his  word.     The  Boers  of  the  town  were  incensed 

*  This  figure  includes  the  numbers  gained  by  the  incorporation  of 
the  minor  Methodist  Churches  of  the  Colonies,  which  has  taken  place 
here  as  in  Australasia  and  Canada. 


2o8  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

at  this  "  giving  of  the  children's  bread  to  dogs,"  and  had  the 
preacher  pubUcly  flogged  and  expelled.  Some  time  later  David 
was  found  on  the  Transvaal  border  by  Paul  Kriiger — then  the 
Boer  Commandant,  afterwards  the  redoubtable  President  of  the 
Republic — who  on  hearing  his  tale  sent  him  back  to  Potchef- 
stroom,  with  a  certificate  which  secured  him  from  further  inter- 
ference. David  resumed  his  mission  amongst  the  Transvaal 
natives,  giving  his  whole  time  and  strength  to  the  Lord's  work, 
without  salary  or  regular  maintenance.  He  considered  himself  a 
Methodist  preacher,  and  formed  his  converts  into  Classes  after  the 
Methodist  pattern,  waiting  for  the  Church  to  arrive  and  take  up 
the  charge. 

Some  communication  from  David  Magata  had  apparently 
reached  the  Mission  House  so  early  as  1865,  for  in  that  year 
"  Potchefstroom  "  is  named  as  a  Circuit  in  the  Bechuana  District, 
with  the  words  "  One  earnestly  requested  "  attached  to  the  name. 
It  was  not,  however,  till  1871  that  George  Blencowe,  who  had 
previously  visited  the  Eastern  Transvaal  from  Natal,  travelled  to 
this  remote  spot  and  found  "  an  effectual  door  "  opened  to 
Methodism.  By  this  time  gold  had  been  discovered  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, and  Mr.  Blencowe  prophesied  :  "  This  country  will 
one  day  be  the  most  populous  in  South  Africa.  This  increase 
in  population  will  be  mainly  persons  of  English  descent."  His 
representations  so  impressed  the  authorities,  that  "  Potchef- 
stroom (Gold  Mines)  "  appears  on  the  list  of  Mission  Stations  for 
1872,  with  three  missionaries  assigned  to  it,  including  the  ex- 
plorer as  Superintendent. 

The  Potchefstroom  Mission,  distant  by  several  hundred  miles 
both  from  Natal  and  Bloemfontein,  was  carried  on  with  difficulty 
and  intermittently,  so  that  in  1879  it  had  reached  a  membership 
of  but  sixty-two.  In  the  following  year,  however,  the  province 
was  formed  into  a  separate  District,  with  Owen  Watkins  for  its 
Chairman.  From  that  date  a  rapid  development  took  place, 
attended  with  many  tokens  of  Divine  power.  Ten  years  later 
the  District  consisted  of  thirty-nine  Circuits,  divided  into  four 
Sections — one  of  these  (British  Bechuanaland)  lying  westward  of 
the  Transvaal  border,  with  Mafeking  for  its  centre — in  which 
fifteen  English  missionaries  and  ten  Native  ministers  are  serving  ; 
some  thirty  "  Native  Agents  "  or  "  Evangelists  "  appear  on  the 
Stations  besides.  The  Church-membership  amounts  to  2,200, 
less  than  a  sixth  of  whom  appear  to  be  English. 

During  the  'eighties  the  Rand  mines  were  opened  ;  Johannes- 
burg was  founded,  and  the  rush  to  the  Transvaal  began.  Our 
Church  was  now  well-planted  in  the  country,  and  Mr.  Watkins  was 


I 


TOWARD  THE  HEART  OF  AFRICA  209 

the  man  for  the  hour.  His  activity  was  unwearied,  his  leadership 
inspiring  ;  and  he  possessed  the  full  sympathy  of  the  Church  at 
home.  In  such  men  as  George  Weavind,  his  successor  in  Chair- 
manship, George  Lowe,  Alfred  Spring  Sharp,  Frederick  J.  Briscoe, 
Thomas  H.  Wainman  he  had  bold  and  able  lieutenants  and  cap- 
tains. The  work  these  men  achieved  would  have  been  impossible 
but  for  the  South  African  Church  behind  them,  which  supplied  in- 
dispensable agents.  Natives  were  drawn  to  the  mines  who  had 
been  touched  by  the  Gospel  far  away  ;  and  groups  of  old  con- 
verts were  reached  in  the  northern  advance  who  had  migrated 
from  stations  further  south  {see  p.  204).  Nor  should  the  aid  of 
Methodist  immigrants,  rendered  freely  at  this  time  of  need  in  all 
kinds  of  lay  service,  be  forgotten. 

The  next  decade,  terminating  with  the  war  of  1 899-1 902,  was 
one  of  unexampled  progress.  The  Mashonaland  Mission  was 
started  in  1891,  entering  the  vast  country  now  known  as  "  Rho- 
desia," which  stretches  northwards  from  the  Transvaal  to  the 
Zambesi  River.  Owen  Watkins  and  Isaac  Shimmin  were 
our  pioneers  in  the  Rhodesia  District,  with  its  two  Sections  of 
Mashonaland  and  Matabeleland,  which  now  employs  ten  English 
missionaries  and  reports  a  Church-membership  of  nearly  i,ooo, 
seven-eighths  of  them  being  Africans. 

Here  Methodism  is  securing  its  base  for  the  march  into  Central 
Africa.  The  railway  has  now  crossed  the  Zambesi,  and  is  push- 
ing rapidly  northwards  ;  our  brethren  in  Rhodesia  are  already 
advancing  into  the  North- West,  a  generous  Bradford  Methodist 
having  provided  the  means. 

After  setting  on  foot  the  Mashonaland  Mission,  Mr.  Watkins 
was  compelled  to  return  to  England,  in  1893  ;  his  ministry  in 
Africa  had  been  creative. 

The  astounding  growth  of  Johannesburg  and  the  mining  popu- 
lation, amongst  whom  "  the  gold-fever  "  and  its  attendant  evils 
prevailed  in  their  acute  form,  tasked  the  utmost  efforts  of  all 
the  Churches  ;  Methodism  took  a  foremost  part  amongst  them. 
The  last  returns  made  before  the  war,  in  1899,  credited  the 
District  with  a  Church-membership  of  nearly  9,000,  one-sixth  of 
these  in  and  about  Johannesburg. 

The  Swaziland  Mission,  amongst  the  tribes  east  of  the  Trans- 
vaal (where  James  Allison  had  laboured  long  ago,  see  p.  94), 
was  yielding  good  fruit.  Further  to  the  east,  at  Delagoa  Bay, 
where  our  mission  had  made  an  abortive  attempt  seventy  years 
before,  a  Church  of  170  Methodists  had  been  gathered  by  the 
ministry  of  Robert  Mashaba.  This  African  pioneer  was  trans- 
ported by  the  Portuguese  (under  groundless  charges  of  political 


210  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

agitation)  to  Cape  de  Verde  for  preaching  the  Gospel ;  he  is 
still  forbidden  their  territory.  In  the  Circuit  of  Delagoa  Bay, 
Methodism  at  the  present  date  (191 2)  counts  nearly  600  members. 

The  war  scattered  our  people,  and  turned  missionaries  into 
army-chaplains  and  chapels  into  hospitals.  The  swift  recovery 
of  the  Church  from  this  desolation  proved  the  soundness  of  its 
fabric,  and  the  strong  attachment  both  of  its  English  and  Native 
adherents.  A  new  Chairman  was  found  for  the  Transvaal  Dis- 
trict in  Amos  Burnet,  a  missionary  of  Indian  experience,  who 
has  brought  to  his  new  charge  a  great  fund  of  energy  and  states- 
manship. With  the  restoration  of  peace  and  the  return  of  the 
dispersed  people,  the  work  of  evangelism  was  resumed  more 
vigorously  than  ever.  Fifteen  recruits  from  home  joined  the 
ministerial  staff,  including  men  of  standing  and  experience,  such 
as  John  Howard,  who  applied  knowledge  gained  in  the  East  of 
London  to  the  problems  of  Johannesburg.  Secretary  Hartley 
came  out  to  aid  in  the  reconstruction  that  followed  the  close  of 
the  war.  The  Kilnerton  Institution,  holding  100  students — the 
largest  of  its  kind  in  the  country — was  established  near  Pretoria, 
for  the  training  of  native  ministers  and  teachers  ;  a  similar 
College  was  started  in  Mashonaland,  where  the  war  had  hardly 
disturbed  the  Mission.  Sekhukhuniland,  in  the  north-east  of  the 
Transvaal,  was  now  entered,  and  its  once  intractable  natives - 
yielded  obedience  to  the  Gospel. 

Within  a  few  years  it  could  be  said  that  "  the  Rand  was  fully 
occupied,  and  the  standard  of  our  Church  was  planted  in  every 
town  and  village  of  the  Transvaal."  Churches,  manses,  schools, 
sprang  up  in  all  directions.  The  Church-membership  of  the 
District  since  1899  has  more  than  doubled,  and  stands  now  at 
over  20,000.  The  cross  of  Christ  is  effectually  lifted  up  by 
Methodism  amongst  the  multitudes  from  every  nation  under 
heaven  that  throng  the  Transvaal  cities  ;  while  through  its 
ministry  to  the  shifting  native  population  employed  at  the  mines, 
and  to  the  scattered  tribes  of  the  veldt,  it  is  spreading  the  leaven 
of  the  new  life  through  South-central  Africa. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Tides  of  Missionary  Zeal 

Methodism  in  England  arose  to  supply  a  new  vehicle  for  the 
universal  Gospel.  As  in  the  case  of  apostolic  Christianity,  its 
foreign  missionary  activity  was  the  irrepressible  outcome  of  its 


TIDES  OF  MISSIONARY  ZEAL  211 

interior  life,  of  the  world-love  of  Christ  which  gave  it  birth  {see 
Chapter  I.).  If  this  be  so,  then  the  beating  of  the  missionary 
pulse  in  Methodism  furnishes  an  index  of  its  health  ;  as  the 
tides  of  missionary  zeal  rise  or  fall,  the  spiritual  vigour  of  the 
Church  waxes  or  wanes.  The  Connexional  form  of  our  mis- 
sionary organization,  which  makes  the  Missionary  Society  and 
the  Church  practically  identical  {see  p.  26),  testifies  to  this  vital 
relationship.  Our  African  or  Indian  Provinces  are  not  extraneous 
appendages  ;  they  are  limbs  of  the  "  one  body,"  which  suffers 
or  rejoices  with  its  remotest  members.  The  term  "  foreign  "  is 
a  misnomer  for  our  brethren  overseas  ;  these  are  "  no  more 
strangers  and  foreigners,  but  fellow-citizens  with  the  saints  and 
of  the  household  of  God."  From  end  to  end  of  the  earth  true 
Methodists  sing  together  : 

"  Subsists  there  in  us  all  one  soul ; 
No  power  can  make  us  twain. 
And  mountains  rise  and  oceans  roll 
To  sever  us  in  vain  !  " 

Hence  the  quickening  of  Church-life  at  home  heightens  mis- 
sionary enthusiasm  ;  and  lowered  vitality  in  British  Methodism 
betrays  itself  in  thinly-attended  missionary  meetings  and  reduced 
subscriptions,  in  paucity  of  volunteers  for  the  foreign  field,  in  a 
depleted  exchequer  and  divided  counsels  at  Bishopsgate.  The 
annual  home  income  of  the  Missionary  Society  may  not  reflect 
in  any  given  year  the  mind  of  the  people  toward  the  work  of 
God  abroad.  Commercial  depression  tells  on  most  charitable 
funds  ;  there  are  times  when  people  give  less  because  they  have 
less.  Connexional  emergencies  at  home,  the  clamant  needs  of 
new  local  or  national  philanthropies,  from  time  to  time  absorb 
the  siympathies  of  the  generously  disposed ;  and  the  wider  flow 
of  Christian  liberality  is  checked  as  this  part  or  that  of  the  stream 
is  drawn  off  for  objects,  more  or  less  worthy,  which  lie  nearer  at 
hand.  After  due  allowance  made  for  these  contingencies,  it 
remains  true  that,  for  a  Church  of  the  creed  and  the  genius  of 
Methodism,  its  work  for  world-humanity  is  its  dominating  in- 
terest ;  missionary  outlay  forms  a  principal  charge  upon  its 
resources  ;  and  the  missionary  income  supplies  a  thermometer 
of  its  vital  heat,  a  gauge  of  its  working  force. 

It  will  be  remembered  (Chapter  II.)  that  for  thirty  years  before 
the  beginning  of  the  W.M.M.S.,  Dr.  Coke  had  been  the  almost 
sole  director  of  the  Missions — in  the  British  Isles,  as  well  as  in 
the  Colonies  and  West  Indies.  The  missionary  fund,  gathered 
chiefly  by  himself  and  supplemented  by  an  annual  collection  in 


212  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

the  chapels,  reached  in  the  last  fourteen  months  of  Dr.  Coke's 
responsibility  the  sum  of  ;^5,500.  The  starting  of  the  Missionary- 
Society  (Chapter  III.),  nearly  doubled  this  sum  in  1813-14  ;  by 
the  year  181 8,  when  the  Society  had  become  fully  organised  and 
was  at  work  in  every  Methodist  District,  the  total  home  income 
had  passed  the  figure  of  £8,000.*  From  that  time  forwards  until 
1846  it  grew  by  leaps  and  bounds,  reaching  at  the  date  just 
named  the  amount  of  ;^94,ooo  (in  round  numbers). 

Then  came  an  arrest ;  five  years  later  the  home  contributions 
had  been  reduced  to  ;^76,ooo.  After  this  decline,  the  advance 
was  resumed,  at  a  much  slower  pace.  In  1856  the  revenue  is 
;^8o,ioo  ;  at  the  end  of  the  next  quinquennium,  ;^9i»500  »  i^ 
1866,  ;^I03,500 — passing  the  high- water  mark  of  twenty  years 
earher  ;  1871  saw  the  total  raised  to  ;^i25,6oo.  Here,  or  a  little 
later,  another  summit  was  reached  ;  but  by  1876,  when  the 
income  stood  at  ;^i  15,000,  a  new  retreat  began — slight  indeed, 
but  continuing,  irregularly,  for  fifteen  years.  In  1891  the  Home 
revenue  fell  to  ;£i02,ooo — the  lowest  figure  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  A  slow  turn  in  the  tide  now  came  about,  which  lifted 
the  income  by  ;^i 0,000  (or  10  per  cent.)  during  the  next  ten  years  ; 
after  this,  a  sudden  rise  in  1906,  marked  by  an  extraordinary 
demonstration  in  favour  of  Foreign  Missions  at  the  Nottingham 
Conference.  The  contributions  of  Home  Methodism  to  the 
Missionary  Society  in  that  year  reached  their  maximum  of 
;^i  74,000  (including,  however,  an  extra  of  nearly  ;^8,ooo  sub- 
scribed for  debt  removal).!  It  is  disappointing  that  the  tide 
has  dropped  once  more  in  the  last  five  years,  the  191 1  income 
realising  ;^i45,ooo — a  figure  only  fractionally  above  that  of 
forty  years  ago. 

The  history  of  the  missionary  revenue  is  represented  by  the 
annexed  diagram,  which  explains  itself.  The  two  conspicuous 
features  of  the  curve  are  :  first,  the  reduced  acceleration  of  the 
later  upward  movements  ;  and  secondly,  the  periodic  character 
of  the  larger  fluctuations  experienced.  The  points  of  maximum 
elevation  are  the  years  1846,  1871  and  1906,  those  of  maximum 
depression  are  1851  and  1893. 

The  factors  determining  the  movement  of  income  are  complex, 

*  In  the  statements  of  income  here  given,  foreign  contributions  are 
excluded  ;  likewise  legacies,  grants  from  the  Centenary  and  similar  occa- 
sional funds,  and  other  incidental  items  going  to  make  up  the  Society's 
gross  income  ;  we  are  concerned  only  with  the  annual  proceeds  accruing 
from  the  Home  Church  in  the  shape  of  collections,  subscriptions,  dona- 
tions. 

t  Attempts  to  wipe  out  accumulated  debt  account  for  several  of  the 
upward  jerks  of  the  income-curve  at  earlier  dates,  notably  in  1882. 


TIDES  OF  MISSIONARY  ZEAL 


213 


1161 

1061       ! 
1691  V: 
1991 

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:> 

3 

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-l-^ 

C 

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> 

i 

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> 

~\ 

\. 

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( 

^ 

00       0       0       0       0       0        0       < 
ooooooooc 
0000000,       0( 
0       0'       0'       0'       0       0       0       0       c 

cOvD^fviOCO^"^f 

214  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

and  require  a  more  exact  analysis  than  we  can  furnish.  The 
rise  or  fall  has  not  been  greatly  affected  by  secular  conditions, 
though  it  is  true  that  the  commercial  panic  of  1827  sent  the 
income  down,  and  the  crest  of  the  wave  in  the  early  'seventies 
accompanied  a  period  of  high  prices  and  trade-expansion.  On 
the  other  hand,  during  the  first  decade  of  the  Society's  history, 
when  the  growth  of  the  income  was  phenomenal,  the  country 
was  in  a  state  of  economic  collapse  ensuing  on  the  close  of  the 
French  War,  and  home  Methodism  was  in  dire  financial  straits  ; 
through  "  the  black  'thirties  "  the  missionary  tide  rose  unabated. 
Nor  have  the  great  Connexional  efforts  in  money-raising,  made 
at  intervals  since  the  Centenary  of  Methodism  in  1839,  impover- 
ished the  Mission  House.  Through  the  early  'forties  the  Mis- 
sionary Fund  swelled  rapidly ;  the  epoch  of  the  Missionary 
Jubilee,*  which  elicited  a  special  fund  of  nearly  ;^20o,ooo, 
raised  instead  of  lowering  the  annual  contributions  ;  the  Thanks- 
giving Fund  of  1879,  and  the  recent  Twentieth  Century  Fund,  did 
not  appreciably  tell  against  the  yearly  Missionary  income — the 
latter  synchronized  with  an  upward  movement. 

The  income  climbed  up  during  two  prolonged  periods — 1832-46 
and  1856-71  ;  again,  for  a  shorter  space,  in  1901-6.  The  first 
great  climb  is  associated  with  West  Indian  Emancipation,  with 
the  victories  of  the  Gospel  in  Tonga  and  Fiji,  with  Freeman's 
powerful  appeal  for  West  Africa  (p.  74),  and  with  the  striking 
developments  of  William  Shaw's  plan  of  campaign  in  South 
Africa.  The  second  accompanied  the  launching  of  the  Missions 
to  China  and  to  Italy,  and  the  new  concern  for  India  awakened 
by  the  Mutiny.  The  third  upward  movement  coincided  with  the 
renewed  claim  of  the  West  Indies  on  English  help,  and  with 

*  Our  chapter  on  the  Jubilee  of  1863,  excluded  for  lack  of  room,  must 
be  reduced  to  this  footnote.  The  flock  gathered  into  Christ's  fold  by 
the  Missionary  Society  during  a  half-century  of  labour  (1813-63)  had 
grown  from  17,000  to  nearly  200,000 — two-thirds  of  these  being  in  1863 
under  the  care  of  independent  Conferences  ;  the  Mission  Staff  had 
multipHed  from  49  to  1,120,  including  ministers  of  the  Affiliated  Con- 
ferences. A  corresponding  advance  in  methods  and  appliances,  and 
in  the  development  of  Church  institutions,  had  been  effected.  The 
Jubilee  celebrations,  commencing  in  Leeds  on  October  6th,  extended  to 
every  part  of  the  Connexion  ;  it  was  a  festival  of  world-wide  Methodism. 
The  total  fund  raised  was  close  upon  ;^i 90,000,  which  enabled  the 
Society  to  provide  for  the  training  of  its  Missionaries,  and  for  the  care 
of  disabled  and  superannuated  workers,  to  improve  substantially  the 
mission-plant  in  the  foreign  districts,  to  wipe  out  the  accumulated  debt 
of  recent  years,  and  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  working  capital  for  its 
general  operations.  Thus  relieved  of  embarrassments,  the  Missionary 
Society  went  on  its  way  rejoicing. — If  Wesleyan  Methodism  could  find 
;^i 90,000  for  its  Jubilee  Missionary  Fund,  how  much  more  for  the 
Centenary  ? 


TIDES  OF  MISSIONARY  ZEAL  215 

the  marvellous  recent  expansion  of  our  work  in  the  Transvaal 
(p.  210)  and  in  China  (p.  167). 

The  first  of  the  two  epochs  of  depression  (1851  and  1893), 
marked  by  the  wave-troughs  in  our  diagram,  has  an  obvious 
explanation.  The  struggle  over  Connexional  Reform,  culminat- 
ing in  1849,  which  rent  from  our  Church  a  third  of  its  home- 
membership,  affected  disastrously  all  its  interests.  Methodism 
lost  ground  in  that  time  of  schism  and  scandal,  which  she  has 
not  yet  recovered  ;  the  shaking  of  her  confidence  and  the  lower- 
ing of  her  prestige  were  consequences  of  the  rupture,  more  lament- 
able than  her  diminution  in  numbers  and  wealth.  The  Foreign 
Missionary  interest  proved  a  saving  influence  at  this  time  of 
shipwreck  ;  not  a  few  who  were  tempted  to  leave  "  the  old 
Body,"  rallied  to  it  in  support  of  this  holy  cause — the  thought 
of  "  the  Missions"  being  shattered  was  intolerable!  The  Mis- 
sionary Society  was  mulcted,  however,  in  a  fifth  of  its  income  ; 
and  when  the  storm  had  passed  and  the  Fund  began  to  recover, 
it  rose  with  difficulty — the  old  buoyancy  was  gone.  The  re- 
trenchments enforced  in  the  'fifties  checked  and  discouraged  our 
missions  in  South  and  West  Africa  [see  pp.  91,  77),  India  {see 
p.  121),  and  the  West  Indies  {see  p.  61)  ;  they  delayed  the  com- 
mencement in  China  {see  p.  152). 

The  depression  of  1893  had  its  antecedent  in  the  unhappy 
Missionary  Controversy  of  1889-90  respecting  the  poUcy  and 
modes  of  life  of  the  Indian  missionaries.  The  Society's  home 
income  had  been  going  down,  on  the  whole,  since  1875,  and 
declined  by  ;^i 0,000  in  the  years  preceding  the  controversy. 
The  agitation  of  1889  was  an  effect  and  symptom  of  the  growing 
coolness  toward  Missions,  and  not  its  cause.  But  this  attack 
aggravated  a  situation  already  difi&cult,  and  carried  suspicion 
into  quarters  where  hitherto  it  had  been  unfelt.  Mistrust  in  a 
sacred  cause  is  easier  to  excite  than  to  allay  ;  and  the  vindica- 
tion of  the  impeached  missionaries,  made  at  the  Conference  of 
1890,  could  not  wholly  undo  the  mischief  done. 

Wider  reasons  must  be  sought,  however,  for  the  stagnation  of 
missionary  income,  which  lasted  more  or  less  for  thirty  years. 
How  far  it  was  due  to  theological  unsettlement  and  the  slacken- 
ing of  evangelical  zeal,  how  far  to  the  slow  progress  of  Eastern 
Missions  which  bulked  more  and  more  largely  in  our  operations, 
and  how  far  to  the  absorption  of  Methodism  in  its  domestic 
affairs — in  the  improvement  of  its  plant,  and  in  new  and  costly 
home-missionary  undertakings — it  might  be  hard  to  say.  The 
premier  place  in  popularity  appeared  to  pass  from  Foreign 
Missions  to  the  great  City  Missions  at  home. 


2i6  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  Society  was  bereft  at  this  time  in 
rapid  succession,  and  prematurely  to  human  seeming,  of  its 
foremost  leaders  and  advocates — Luke  H.  Wiseman,  George  T. 
Perks,  W.  Morley  Punshon,  William  O.  Simpson,  John  Kilner. 
The  Mission  House  was  robbed  of  its  wisest  counsellors,  and 
frequent  changes  came  about  in  the  Secretariat ;  the  missionary 
platform  missed  potent  and  familiar  voices.  These  losses  weak- 
ened the  defences  of  the  Society,  against  the  time  of  danger. 

Enthusiasm  for  missions  to  the  heathen  was  giving  place  to 
criticism,  both  inside  and  outside  of  our  Church  ;  the  sense  of 
the  world-need  for  Christ  and  the  world-duty  of  His  people  had 
been  somehow  blunted.  The  age  of  missionary  romance  and 
heroism  seemed  to  have  passed.  The  West  Indies,  the  South 
Seas,  South  Africa,  by  virtue  of  their  evangelisation,  now  scantily 
supplied  the  tales  of  encounters  with  cannibals  and  Kafir  hordes, 
of  hair-breadth  escapes  and  cruel  imprisonments  and  desperate 
hardships,  which  had  thrilled  missionary  audiences  of  a  previous 
generation.  The  whole  subject  had  lost  its  novelty  and  glamour. 
The  first  ardour  of  the  campaign  had  passed  ;  victories  over  the 
light-armed  troops  of  heathenism  had  been  gained,  which  seemed 
to  promise  a  comparatively  rapid  conquest ;  but  the  heavier 
tasks,  of  assailing  the  huge  fortresses  of  eastern  superstition  and 
demonism,  now  looming  before  the  Church,  required  an  invincible ' 
patience  and  a  skilled  method,  the  necessity  for  which  had  been 
imperfectly  realised.  Methodism  showed  signs  under  this  strain 
of  weariness  in  well-doing.  The  time  had  come  for  the  faith  that 
"  walks  not  by  the  look  of  things  "  ;  emotion  must  be  supported 
and  undergirt  by  principle  ;  instructed  thought  and  deliberate 
plan  must  replace  unconsidered  impulse  and  romantic  sentiment. 
Where  the  seed  of  missionary  faith  had  been  sown  in  shallow 
ground,  at  this  time  of  testing  it  "  withered  away." 

A  deeper  conception  of  the  ground  and  aim  of  missions  to  the 
heathen,  and  a  larger  grasp  of  the  world-problem,  were  necessary, 
if  the  Church  was  to  carry  through  its  enterprise,  and  to  fulfil 
its  Lord's  commission  on  a  scale  adequate  to  modern  conditions 
and  opportunities.  There  are  signs,  multiplying  during  the  last 
ten  years,  that  such  worthier  conceptions  are  forming  amongst 
the  leaders  of  the  Churches,  that  a  fuller  and  more  compelUng 
vision  of  duty  to  mankind  is  coming  to  the  Christian  conscience. 
The  Student  Christian  Movement,  which  has  spread  through  the 
intellectual  youth  of  Christendom,  is  charged  with  strong  con- 
victions of  missionary  duty,  and  is  raising  up  for  the  Churches 
workers  of  firm  faith  and  broad  human  sympathies.  Amongst 
our  own  thoughtful  young  people,  Missionary  Study  is  being  taken 


TIDES  OF  MISSIONARY  ZEAL  217 

up  with  a  zest  which  cannot  fail  to  be  productive  in  years  to  come. 
The  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  in  America  has  quickened 
the  energies  of  Missionary  Societies  across  the  Atlantic,  and  created 
a  new  standard  of  missionary  giving.  The  laymen  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Communions  are  considering  their  collective  duty  toward 
the  heathen  world  ;  they  recognize  how  grievously  this  has  been 
neglected,  and  how  greatly  the  aggressive  forces  of  the  Gospel  are 
wasted  for  want  of  co-operation.  British  laymen  are  beginning 
to  enter  on  the  same  enquiry. 

The  Edinburgh  Missionary  Conference,  of  June,  1910,  revealed 
the  working  of  new  forces  in  the  missionary  life  of  Christendom. 
A  spirit  of  "  zeal,  and  unity,  and  power  "  rested  upon  that  great 
assembly,  gathered  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  and  from  the  whole 
Protestant  fellowship,  which  filled  all  participators  with  thankful 
amazement ;  it  was  felt  to  be  an  earnest  of  the  pouring  out  of 
God's  Spirit  upon  all  flesh. 

The  shaking  of  the  Far  East  that  we  are  now  witnessing — 
especially  the  revolution  in  China,  following  upon  the  martyrdoms 
of  the  Boxer  Persecution — is  evidence  of  the  powerful  impact  of 
Christianity  upon  the  mind  of  Asia,  which  gives  encouragement 
to  Missionary  endeavour,  and  constitutes  a  call  for  missionary 
effort  and  sacrifice  of  unparalleled  magnitude.  The  trend  of 
international  affairs  has  drawn  the  English-speaking  peoples 
irresistibly  into  world-politics.  Commerce  and  science  are  every 
year  knitting  closer  the  bands  of  the  world's  commonwealth. 
The  white  man  is  compelled  to  feel  that  he  is  his  brother's  keeper, 
and  that  it  cannot  be  well  with  himself  while  his  black  or  brown 
fellow-man  is  brutahsed  by  oppression  or  frenzied  by  demonism. 
Comparative  Rehgion  has  disclosed  the  identical  spiritual  nature 
and  needs  which  make  humanity  a  single  race,  "  the  offspring  of 
God  "  ;  it  enables  us  to  trace  the  Unes  of  aberration  and  the  course 
of  degeneracy  which  man  has  followed  in  his  wanderings  from 
God,  and  the  lines  of  aspiration  and  sacrifice  along  which  he 
gropes  after  God.  Everything  is  making  for  a  more  conscious 
solidarity,  a  freer  commerce  both  in  material  and  spiritual  goods 
between  people  and  people  than  our  fathers  knew.  Insular 
selfishness,  the  limitations  of  the  home-horizon,  are  becoming 
difi&cult  to  the  modern  man — still  more  to  the  inteUigent  Christian 
man,  most  of  all  to  the  man  of  Methodist  faith  and  sympathies. 
Such  indications  surely  point  to  the  coming  of  a  tide  of  mission- 
ary zeal  of  wider  scope  and  richer  energy  than  the  Church  of 
Christ  has  witnessed  hitherto. 

But  the  tides  move  at  the  lift  of  forces  beyond  the  earth.  No 
calculation  drawn  from  the  signs  of  the  times  in  human  thought 


2i8  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

and  society,  will  guide  us  to  any  sure  expectation  in  spiritual 
matters,  apart  from  the  supernatural  factor  ;  this  is  always 
sovereign  and  decisive.  There  is  a  "  wind  "  that  "  bloweth  where 
it  listeth,"  whose  comings  and  goings  no  science  can  trace,  no 
sagacity  predict.  Therefore  the  all-imperative  need  of  prayer. 
Surely  God  who  is  causing  many  of  His  servants  to  "  abound  in 
hope  through  the  Holy  Spirit,"  will  be  pleased,  in  His  people's 
asking,  to  give  His  Holy  Spirit,  at  this  new  "  fulness  of  the  times," 
in  adequate  fulness  of  power  to  the  whole  body  of  His  Church. 

Never  was  there  such  an  opportunity  (we  may  reverently  say) 
for  the  Spirit  of  Christ  as  the  world  presents  just  now.  There 
are,  on  the  one  hand,  the  vast  forces  of  modern  Christendom — 
ethical,  intellectual,  material — lying  disjointed,  unorganized, 
cumbered  and  entangled  with  all  sort  of  secular  hindrances  ; 
there  are  the  vast  fields  of  heathenism — visible,  accessible,  already 
reached  and  reclaimed  in  patches  here  and  there.  How  to 
bring  these  two  together — to  bring  the  faith  and  love,  the  wisdom 
and  manifold  remedial  help,  of  the  whole  Church  to  bear  upon 
the  whole  world  !  That  is  a  task — of  unification,  inspiration,  and 
direction — the  largest  that  the  world  and  time  have  yet  offered 
to  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.  It  is  a  work  not  beyond  His  strength, 
nor  beyond  His  purpose.  But  His  action  is  strangely  made  con- 
tingent on  human  desire  and  prayer.  "  The  Lord  whom  ye  seek 
shall  suddenly  come  to  His  temple  !  " 


CHAPTER  XVII 
The  World  Call  to  Methodism 

The  story  told  in  this  book  is  not  of 

"  far-off  things 
And  battles  long  ago  "  ; 

it  is  of  a  war  in  being,  a  campaign  in  mid  course.  While  these 
pages  are  being  read,  native  recruits  are  drilling  ;  new  drafts  are 
sailing  for  the  front ;  news  of  victory  or  defeat  is  on  its  way 
home  ;  great  questions  of  strategy  and  policy  are  in  debate  among 
the  leaders  ;  every-day  heroisms  are  making  the  joy  of  warfare 
for  the  rank  and  file.  The  tale  has  not  yet  reached  its  Finis  ; 
we  of  modern  Methodism  are  to  figure  in  it,  as  well  as  read  it. 
Its  chapters  resound  with  challenges  that  must  surely  fire  the 
blood. 


THE  WORLD  CALL  TO  METHODISM  219 

Listen,  for  instance,  to  the  challenge  of  heroic  example  and  great 
achievement.  What  tasks,  spite  of  all  hindrances  and  weaknesses, 
the  past  century  has  seen  accomplished  !  Fiji,  from  an  outpost 
of  hell,  become  a  home  of  Christian  light ;  the  Britains  overseas, 
in  their  swift  incalculable  spread,  leavened  by  the  Methodist 
witness,  chaplained  by  the  Methodist  preacher,  so  that  the 
British  Empire  to-day  is  as  definitely  Christian  in  its  outlying 
provinces  as  at  its  centre  ;  our  tutelage  of  West  Indian  negrodom, 
from  an  ancestry  of  fetishism  and  a  childhood  of  slavery,  up 
toward  the  full-grown  man  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  our  array  of  mission- 
ary graves,  and  of  vigorous  native  Churches,  in  West  Africa  ;  the 
contribution  of  our  Missions  to  the  Christianization  of  the  thought 
and  conscience  of  India  ;  our  contingent  to  the  army  of  Christ  in 
China,  planted  in  its  commanding  centres,  furnished  with  the 
most  modern  appliances  of  the  Gospel  warfare  :  such  are  the 
"  labours  into  which  we  are  entered  "  ;  they  are  our  heritage, 
our  vantage-ground, — and  our  challenge  ! 

What  stalwarts  the  Hundred  Years'  War  has  revealed — and  has 
bred  !  This  world-campaign  has  a  spell  that  draws  to  it  great 
souls,  and  makes  them  greater  ;  it  lifts  humble  lives  to  shining 
table-lands  of  wide  and  joyous  service.  Our  Missions  have  at  once 
satisfied,  and  enhanced,  the  passion  for  Christ  and  for  humanity 
of  a  Coke,  the  statesmanship  of  a  Bunting,  the  rich  imagination  of 
a  Newton,  the  scholarship  of  a  Gogerly,  the  daring  of  a  Calvert, 
the  consuming  energy  of  a  William  Black,  the  rare  selflessness  of 
a  David  Hill.  From  many  a  village  congregation  they  have 
called  forth  the  humble  Methodist  lad,  perhaps  to  win  to  Christ 
a  Thakombau  and  his  people,  perhaps  to  tame  a  new  language  to 
the  service  of  the  Gospel,  to  champion  the  black  man  against 
proud  white  oppressors,  to  shepherd  for  Christ  great  helpless 
communities,  to  lay  foundations  or  build  walls  of  some  new  city 
of  God ;  or  perhaps  to  lay  down  life  still  unlived,  that  hard  soil 
might  be  softened  and  enriched  by  martyr-blood. 

Let  us  remind  ourselves,  in  these  days  of  languor  and  medio- 
crity, that  we  are  of  the  line  of  the  fighters,  builders,  heroes, 
martyrs,  saints  of  missionary  annals.  And  we  have  it  in  us  to 
be  worthy  of  them,.  Exploits  as  arduous  and  as  splendid  as  any 
that  they  have  achieved,  invite  our  courage  to-day.  For  men 
and  women  of  the  Methodist  breed,  heirs  of  the  world-warfare 
against  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  life  offers  now  as  in  the  old 
time  glorious  possibilities  to  a  loyal  faith. 

Listen  then  to  the  challenge  of  the  half-won  battle,  which  rings 
insistent  from  the  pages  of  the  missionary  story.  In  the  nation 
or  in  the  Church,  there  are  few  appeals  that  touch  honour  more 


220  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

nearly,  few  pledges  more  constraining,  than  those  which  arise 
from  the  blood  and  treasure  poured  out  by  former  generations 
for  noble  ends.  Our  fathers  played  their  brave  part,  and  "  died 
in  faith  "  ;  their  reward  must  come  through  our  hands.  Some 
great  things  they  began  and  completed, — as  when  Colonial 
Methodism  in  three  continents,  born  of  their  labours,  was  nur- 
tured to  manhood  and  in  a  few  decades  ceased  to  need  their  care. 
In  other  of  their  God-given  tasks,  the  most  arduous  part  is  con- 
cluded ;  we  inherit  diminishing  responsibilities,  and  the  prospect 
of  a  happy  and  not  distant  completion  ;  there  are  native  Churches, 
in  west  and  south  and  east,  which  give  token  of  adolescence  and 
anticipate  the  day  when  they  too  will  keep  their  own  house.  But 
in  the  main  the  world-enterprise  of  Methodism  presents,  as  the 
second  century  dawns,  the  enthralling  aspect  of  the  Battle-at- 
its-crisis.  We  see  in  most  of  our  twenty-nine  Mission  Districts 
costly  beginnings — liable  to  come  to  nought  if  we  fail,  certain 
to  repay  richly  our  fathers'  outlay  and  ours,  if  we  are  faithful. 
A  Century  of  Preparation  closes,  to  offer  us  the  Century  of 
Fruition. 

But  the  fruit  of  past  toil  and  tears  will  not  drop  into  our  mouths 
while  we  sit  idle.  What  was  begun  by  the  dogged  labour,  the 
sustained  sacrifice  which  these  pages  record,  must  be  completed 
by  the  supreme  effort,  the  "  advance  all  along  the  line  "  that 
turns  struggle  to  victory,  by  the  strenuous  reaping  that  secures 
the  long-looked-for  harvest. 

What  a  costly  beginning,  for  example,  is  our  West  African 
base-line,  with  its  rampart  of  graves  fronting  vast  hinterlands ! 
What  an  imperious  challenge  speaks  in  the  position  won  slowly, 
foot  by  foot,  in  cities  like  Mysore,  Barcelona,  Wuchow,  Colombo  ; 
at  strategic  points  such  as  Lucknow,  Mandalay,  Changsha,  Bulu- 
wayo,  Panama, — boldly  seized  and  tenaciously  held  for  the 
future  advance ;  in  the  mass-movements  of  Haidarabad  or 
Kafirland  ;  in  a  China — tremendous  phenomenon  ! — turned 
receptive,  an  India  anxious  to  accommodate  Christ  in  its  pan- 
theon ;  in  the  world-languages  mastered,  the  world's  doors 
shaken  open,  the  world's  face  turned  about  from  the  past  to  the 
future,  its  hands  emptied  of  the  old  and  groping  for  the  new. 

This  world-situation — this  centenary  crisis — is  no  fortuitous 
happening.  It  is  the  crucial  point  at  which  the  striving  and 
sacrifice  of  past  generations  have  arrived.  It  enshrines  their 
labour  of  love  laid  down  in  death  incomplete,  their  sacred  hope 
bequeathed  to  us.  The  walls  of  huge  fortresses  of  evil  have  been 
breached — the  hour  strikes  for  the  assault !  Were  we  of  the 
twentieth  century  to  trifle  with  this  heritage  of  ripe  occasion,  we 


THE  WORLD  CALL  TO  METHODISM  221 

should  nullify,  in  large  part,  the  work  of  the  century  behind  us  ; 
most  assuredly,  we  should  miss  for  ourselves  the  way  of  honour 
and  gladness. 

Our  Methodist  forefathers  counted  on  us  ;  they  embarked  on 
a  hundred  tasks  that  were  folly  and  waste,  if  we  might  not  be 
trusted  to  continue  and  complete  them.  We  shall  put  them  to 
shame  as  well  as  ourselves,  if  in  our  second  century  Time  writes 
over  the  door  :  "  This  man  began  to  build,  and  was  not  able  to 
finish  !  "  But  if  we  honour  their  faith  in  us  and  take  up  their 
commitments,  we  shall  find  that  they  have  left  the  best  part  to 
their  successors.  Theirs  the  long  wilderness-journey,  ours  to 
go  up  and  possess  the  land.  The  law  runs  on  from  one  dispensa- 
tion to  another  :  "  God  "  hath  "  provided  some  better  thing 
concerning  us,  that  apart  from  us  they  should  not  be  made 
perfect." 

"  Some  better  thing  " — for  comparison  of  then  and  now  con- 
fronts us  with  the  challenge  of  ampler  opportunity  and  fuller  equip- 
ment. There  is  a  singular  parallel  between  the  positions  of 
Methodism  on  the  threshold  of  its  first  and  of  its  second  mis- 
sionary century — history  repeats  itself ;  at  both  epochs  a  startling 
new  world-summons  came  to  an  unexpectant  and  seemingly 
inadequate  Church. 

If  we  are  faced  with  "  a  new  world  to  be  won  for  Christ  " 
(Edinburgh  Conference:  Message  to  the  Churches),  so  were  our 
ancestors.  In  their  times  of  burgeoning  empire  and  adventurous 
trade,  a  world  hitherto  unknown  was  being  partly  revealed, 
partly  created  ;  and  their  favourite  aspiration,  "  O  that  the  world 
might  taste  and  see  !  "  as  they  sang  it,  widened  before  their  eyes. 

But  our  "  new  world  "  is  both  larger  in  dimensions  and,  for 
those  who  can  hear,  more  impressive  in  its  appeals  than  the  new 
world  opening  in  181 3.  By  how  much  their  oceanic  view  out- 
ranged the  Mediterranean  horizon  of  early  Christendom,  by  so 
much  does  our  world  in  magnitude  and  fulness  surpass  theirs. 
For  the  first  time  since  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  "  was  uttered, 
the  known  world  is  the  whole  world.  Not  now  the  island-fringes 
and  shores,  but  the  continental  masses  ;  not  the  rude  and  plastic 
tribes,  but  the  mighty  peoples  of  ancient  and  settled  culture  ; 
not  the  crude  primitive  heathenisms,  but  the  elaborate  and  pro- 
found religious  systems  antagonize  the  Church  of  Christ  to-day. 
The  present-day  problems  of  world-evangelization  compared 
with  those  of  a  hundred  years  back,  are  as  the  higher  mathematics 
to  the  simple  rules  of  arithmetic.  God  honours  us,  who  are  so 
unworthy,  by  inviting  us  to  conquests  beyond  our  fathers' 
dreams. 


222  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

Are  we  tempted  to  think  this  exigent  world -summons  ill- 
timed  ?  "  How  can  Churches  hard  pressed  at  home  and  baffled 
by  the  scepticism  and  godlessness  of  the  age,  face  gigantic  tasks 
outside  of  Christendom  ?  How, "  it  is  asked,  "  can  the  Methodism 
of  to-day,  with  declining  numbers,  financial  strain,  multiplied 
home-problems — conscious  as  it  is  of  inward  malaise  and  malady 
— be  called  to  a  duty  more  than  sufficient  for  the  unburdened 
powers  of  the  most  robust  and  healthiest  of  Churches  ?  This 
supposed  '  world-crisis  '  is  surely  a  mis-reading  of  the  signs  of 
the  times  ;  or  else,  for  once,  the  synchronisms  of  Providence  are 
at  fault,  and  we  are  faced  with  the  flatly  impossible  !  " 

If  it  is  thus  we  are  tempted  to  judge  our  epoch,  the  parallel 
juncture  of  a  century  ago  supplies  a  cordial.  For  the  call  of  the 
new  world  of  1813  came  to  a  Methodism  more  desperately  un- 
equal to  its  Opportunity  than  we  can  pretend  to  be.  As  we  have 
seen,  it  was  a  Methodism  scarcely  out  of  its  cradle  which  flung 
itself  upon  the  enterprise  of  foreign  missions  ;  a  Methodism  at  a 
financial  impasse  compared  with  which  our  embarrassments  are 
ease  ;  a  Methodism  which,  as  its  leaders  told  it,  risked  its  very 
existence  when  it  founded  the  Missionary  Society.  In  view  of 
the  national  and  ecclesiastical  situation,  those  years  were  the 
most  inopportune  conceivable  for  such  attempts.  Yet  it  was 
those  years  that  God  chose  for  the  purpose  ;  and  history  testifies 
how  splendidly  the  Methodism  of  that  time  by  losing  its  life 
saved  it ;  how  in  responding  to  God's  world-call  the  Church  dis- 
covered springs  of  energy  out  of  which  deliverance  was  wrought 
at  home,  while  strength  was  forthcoming  for  exploits  at  the  ends 
of  the  earth.  "  The  wisdom  of  God,"  which  is  "  foolishness  with 
men,"  offers  to  Methodism  in  our  day  the  like  salvation  by 
sacrifice, — the  old  way  of  the  cross  ! 

Considered  fairly,  our  equipment  for  the  new  century's  world- 
campaign  is  as  much  ampler  than  our  fathers',  as  our  opportunity 
is  grander.  Modern  facilities  of  travel  and  communication, 
modern  knowledge  of  world-conditions,  the  inter-linking  of  man- 
kind which  is  the  outstanding  marvel  of  modern  history,  combine 
to  give  us,  for  missionary  purposes,  an  unprecedented  advantage. 
Above  all,  we  have  at  our  command  the  experience  and  apparatus 
gained  through  a  century  of  hard  schooling.  What  pathetic 
waste  of  time,  money,  energy,  even  life,  the  early  annals  of  all 
the  Missionary  Societies  exhibit, — through  inevitable  ignorance, 
unconquerable  distance,  tentative  policies,  unorganized  forces ! 
Gradually,  as  the  decades  have  passed,  the  strategy  and  tactics 
of  the  campaign  have  been  evolved,  the  branches  of  the  service 
developed  and  specialised,  the  weapons  of  the  warfare  hammered 


THE  WORLD  CALL  TO  METHODISM  223 

into  shape.  The  field  has  been  measured  in  its  length  and 
breadth  ;  valleys  have  been  exalted,  hills  levelled,  rough  places 
made  plain  and  crooked  things  straight.  The  Edinburgh  Con- 
ference of  1910  impressively  exhibited  the  missionary  science 
and  v/3iT-materiel  that  are  available  for  the  Church's  use  to-day. 
In  numbers,  wealth,  knowledge,  access,  experience,  organization, 
we  transcend  immeasurably  the  conditions  under  which  our  fathers 
took  in  hand  their  world-task  ;  not  with  shrinking  and  dismay, 
but  with  glowing  confidence  ought  we  to  welcome  the  larger 
summons  addressed  to  our  ears. 

Listen,  finally,  to  the  message  that  is  the  diapason  note  of 
the  missionary  story, — the  challenge  of  the  revealed  resources  of  God. 

When  the  utmost  has  been  made  of  man's  part  in  the  doing, 
the  true  comment  on  the  hundred  years'  work  is  :  "  What  hath 
God  wrought  ?  "  To  look  no  deeper  than  the  human  would  be  to 
miss  "  the  very  pulse  of  the  machine."  This  world-campaign  is 
spiritual  through  and  through,  or  it  is  futility  and  falsehood  ; 
it  is  God  here  who  "  worketh  all  things  in  all  " — unless  we  see 
that,  we  see  nothing. 

Missionary  work,  and  missionary  study,  help  us  in  quite  new 
ways  to  learn  what  God  is  like.  In  the  distant  we  discern  Him 
often  more  plainly  than  in  the  near — in  the  starry  heavens  rather 
than  among  city  streets  ;  in  the  pages  of  history  better  than  in 
"  the  day's  confusion,  toil  and  din."  Where  the  battle-line 
stretches  farthest  and  the  fight  is  hottest,  where  the  disproportion 
between  human  strength  and  the  appointed  task  is  extreme, 
there  we  make  the  crowning  discovery  of  the  God  of  the  Limitless 
Resources,  the  God  of  the  Impossible  ! 

The  story  of  the  Gospel — its  first  coming,  and  its  later  diffusion 
— is  a  cryptogram  of  which  the  key  is  God.  Omit  Him,  and  it  is 
a  tissue  of  impossible  characters,  irrational  aims,  unaccountable 
events.  What  was  there  in  the  eighteenth-century  England  to 
produce  the  men  and  women  of  vision  and  ardour  that  this  cam- 
paign called  for,  and  found  ?  It  was  the  Spirit  of  Jesus,  taking 
possession  of  many  common  and  of  a  few  uncommon  peoples, 
that  lifted  them  to  the  level  of  their  high  undertaking.  What 
human  skill  or  power  opened  closed  doors,  shaped  and  synchron- 
ized events,  controlled  the  passions  of  savage  chiefs  and  turbulent 
peoples,  brought  escape  so  often  from  impending  disasters,  fruition 
out  of  frustration,  abounding  harvest  from  scanty  and  misapplied 
tillage  ?  Looking  at  the  little  Liverpool  Conference  of  1813  repre- 
senting the  poverty-stricken  Methodist  sect,  what  madman  would 
have  foretold  that  the  overseas  work  for  whose  extension  Dr.  Coke 
wrestled  with  that  reluctant  assembly,  would  after  100  years  have 


224  WESLEY'S  WORLD  PARISH 

yielded  Churches  numbering  nigh  a  million  members,  spread  over 
five  continents  ?  "  Poor,  yet  making  many  rich  ;  pressed  on 
every  side,  yet  not  straitened  ;  smitten  down,  yet  not  destroyed  ; 
dying,  and  behold,  we  live  !  " — these  are  the  constant  paradoxes 
of  our  missionary  annals ;  for  "  the  exceeding  greatness  of  the 
power  "  is  "  of  God,  and  not  from  ourselves." 

This  lesson  of  the  overwhelming  resources  of  God  is  at  once 
the  most  compelling,  and  the  most  encouraging,  message  that  our 
first  century  passes  on  to  the  second.  It  banishes  timorous 
misgivings  ;  it  allures  with  the  prospect  of  wonders  "  ready  to 
be  revealed." 

Standing  on  the  threshold  of  the  new  age,  dismayed  by  decline 
of  faith  and  defect  of  vision,  by  the  weight  of  her  home-burdens 
and  the  difficulty  of  her  internal  problems,  the  Church  beholds 
world-issues  emerging  of  unimagined  vastness  and  complication, 
which  it  is  for  her  to  control  and  shape.  Let  her  look  back,  and  see 
how  in  every  stage  of  her  warfare  man's  extremity  has  been  God's 
opportunity  ;  her  whole  history  is  a  revealing  of  new  resources 
in  Almighty  God.  We  have  not  to  ask  whether  the  task  is  com- 
passable,  but  only  whether  it  is  commanded.  If  the  Master's  call 
be  clear,  we  shall  find  that,  either  on  the  sea  like  Peter  or  through 
the  sea  like  Israel,  we  are  somehow  able  to  go  forward. 

And  the  world-call  to  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church,  at  the 
opening  of  our  second  missionary  century,  "  with  how  large 
letters  "  it  is  written  !  It  is  the  call  of  ripe  harvests  for  the 
reaper  ;  of  the  battle  in  mid-clash  for  the  good  soldier  ;  of  infant 
Churches,  our  own  offspring,  for  the  nursing-mother  ;  the  call 
of  a  world  in  crisis,  seeking  everything  but  Christ,  needing  Christ 
more  than  everything.  The  call  is  piercingly  clear  ;  and  the 
voices  of  fear  and  self-regarding  prudence  are  hushed  before  the 
revealed  resources  of  God  in  Christ, — the  same  last  century,  this 
century,  and  for  ever  ! 

The  story  cannot  more  fitly  close  than  with  the  closing  message 
of  the  Edinburgh  Conference  :  "  There  is  certainly  impUed  in 
this  imperative  call  of  duty  a  latent  assurance  that  God  is  greater, 
more  loving,  nearer  and  more  available  for  our  help  and  comfort, 
than  any  man  has  dreamed.  .  .  .  We  are  called  to  make  new 
discoveries  of  the  grace  and  power  of  God,  for  ourselves,  for  the 
Church,  and  for  the  world  ;  and  in  the  strength  of  that  firmer 
and  bolder  faith  in  Him,  to  face  the  new  age  and  the  new  task 
with  a  new  consecration." 


Wyman  &  Sons  Ltd.,  Printers,  London  and  Reading. 


/ 


Princeton  Theoloqicfll  Semtnary-Sp^pr  Lii 


1    1012  01059  9092 


Date  Due 


